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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 




UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 





Books puhlished by the American Asylum. 
at Hartford, Conn., under the Ellen Lyman 
Fund and the Joseph Davis Fund. 



FIRST LESSONS IN ENGLISH. 

A Course of Systematic Instruction in Language. 
By Caroline C. Sweet. 

No. I , pp. 1 1 6. For the first year. 

No. 2, pp. 113. For the second year. 

No. 3, pp. 125. For the third year. 

No. 4, pp. 129. For the fourth yea^r. 



Talks and Stories. 

By W. G. Jenkins, M. A. 

A vohime of 216 pages, containing nearly one hun- 
dred stories and more than forty model conversations. 



BITS 



OK 



HISTORY. 



BY 



/ 

JOHN E. CRANE, B. A. 




published by 

The American Asylum, Hartford, Conn. 

iSgo. 



^..W\. 



COPYRIGHT, 1S90, 
By The American Asylum, at Hartford, for the Edlxation 

AND InSTRICTION OF THE DEAF AND DlMB. 



9n^ 

on 



TI14 Cat, Lotkuivo.1 ,t Braxnard Co. Print, Bartford, CVxHI. 



PREFACE. 

Of the utility of stories in the class-room of the deaf 
there can be no question. Indeed, most teachers recognize 
them as an indispensable factor to the success of their 
pupils in acquiring language. As a means for giving 
language to the pupil, for exciting his interest, cultivat- 
ing his memory, awakening his dormant reasoning powers, 
and relieving the hum-drum and drudgery of the class- 
room, and for the general brightening of the school hours, 
there is nothing more practical. 

But stories pertaining to United States History, as do 
the series herein contained, serve a twofold purpose. 
While they meet all the requirements of ordinary school 
stories as a means for familiarizing the pupil with the 
various forms of the English language, they, at the same 
time, teach him lessons of fortitude and self-sacrifice, and 
acquaint him with the heroic trials, sufferings, and achieve- 
ments of our forefathers in making this country what it 
now is, all of which tend to stimulate in him the desire to 
learn more of those facts in broader fields. 

The design of this little book is to pave the way to 
the formal study of the History of the United States. 
Every teacher of experience knows how hard deaf children 
find the transition from the easy language lessons specially 
prepared for their pupils for the first four or five years of 
their school course to the enlarged vocabulary and involved 
sentences of the simplest common-school histories. A 
few months' drill on these historical stories will make 
that transition comparatively easy. 



These stories are not intended to be read merely, but 
to furnish the material for a thorough drill in language. 
The pupil can learn to grasp the ideas from the printed 
page without much previous explanation by the teacher. 
Every story may be made a lesson to be carefully and 
minutely picked to pieces by written questions and 
answers, every answer forming a perfect sentence. The 
questions should be so formed as to call out as much 
thought as possible on the part of the pupil. No parrot 
work should be allowed. It is well to introduce, occa- 
sionly, questions, the answers to which cannot be found in 
the text-book, but mu.st be inferred. A few sample ques- 
tions are given with the opening stories. 

These stories, most of them widely current, have been 
gathered from magazines, newspapers, and a great variety 
of .story books and hi.stories. Many of the stories usually 
found in school histories have been omitted. 

The compiler desires to acknowledge his obligation tf) 
Dr. Job Williams, the Principal of the American Asylum, 
for suggesting the plan of this book, for the selection of 
many of the .stories, and for other valuable aid. 

JOHN E. CRANE. 

Haktfurd, Cu>;x., Jan. i, 1S90. 



WASHINGTON 
AND THE UNTRAINED HORSE. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON was born at Mt. 
Vernon, Va., February 22, 1732. He was a 
good ajid obedient boy and never told a lie. 
When he was eleven years old, his father died. 
Then his mother took care of him. He went to 
school and studied diligently. When he grew 
up, he became a surve3^or. 

George's mother had a span of elegant gray 
horses. She was very fond of them. They 
fed in a field near her house. She often sat by 
her window sewing. She loved to look at her 
fine horses, while they were feeding. Some- 
times she saw them galloping and frisking 
about in the field. She smiled at their capers. 
She was very proud of them and refused to 
sell them. 

George was fond of play like all bo}' s. One 
day several boys came to his house to play with 
him. By and by the}^ saw Mrs. Washington's 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



horses feeding; in the field. One of the horses 
was very wdd. No one had ever ridden on its 
back. The boys began to talk with each other 
about the wild horse. P'inall}^ one of them 
boasted that he could catch it and ride on its 
back. Then he went into the field and tried to 
catch the horse, but it kicked up its heels at 
him and galloped awa}^ like a deer. 

Then another bo}^ said that he could beat 
the first bo3^ He succeeded in catching the 
horse. Then he got upon its back, but (juickly 
it wheeled around and reared on its hind legs. 
The bov fell to the ground, but he was not 
hurt. This made all the boys laugh and they 
did not dare to try again. 

Just then George came forward. He was 
much younger and smaller than the other bo^'S, 
but he was strong and brave. He took a bridle 
under his arm and walked quietly to the horse. 
He held out his hand and called it. It stood 
still and watched him. He took it by its fore- 
lock. He patted its nose and talked gently to 
it. He put the bridle on its head and got 
upon its back. Quickh' it wheeled around and 
reared up as before, but George held on to its 
mane and did not fall off. Then the horse 
gallo])e(l swiftly across the field. It then turned 
around and ran to the other side of the field. 
It tried again and again to throw George off. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



<V^. 



fTP 







but it could not do so. It continued to run 
about for some time. By and b}^ it burst a 
blood vessel and fell dead to the ground. 

George was sorry for what he had done, but 
he could not deceive his mother, or tell her a 
lie. So he went to her and confessed what he 
had done. She was very sorr}^ to lose her 
valuable horse, but she was glad to see her son 
so honest and truthful. So she forgave him. 
The boys all admired George's skill and bravery. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



1. What is this stor}^ about ? 

2. How long ago was George Washington 
born ? 

3. In what month was he born? On what 
da)^ ? In what 3^ear ? It what state? 

4. Why do we have a holiday ever}' 3'ear 
on the 2 2(1 of Februar}' ? 

5. Was George a truthful bo}- ? 

6. Was he disobedient ? 

7. In whcit 3'ear did George's father die ? 

8. When did George's mother take care of 
him? Why? 

9. Wh}^ did George go to school ? 

10. How did he behave at school ? 

11. What was his business after leaving 
school ? 

12. How many horses did George's mother 
have ? 

13. What color were they ? 

14. Wh}^ did she put them into her field ? 

15. AVhy was she fond of them? 

16. Where was her field ? 

1 7. From what place did she look at her 
horses ? 

18. What did she see her horses doing? 

19. A\'hat caused her to smile ? 

20. Why did she refuse to sell them? 

21. How do you know that George was fond 
of play? 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



2 2. Why was one of Mrs. Washington's 
horses wild ? 

23. What did the boys talk about? 

24. What did one boy boast that he could do ? 

25. Why did not the first boy catch the horse ? 

26. Why did the horse kick up his heels ? 

27. Why did the horse rear? 

28. Why did the boys laugh? 

29. Why were they afraid to try again to 
catch the horse ? 

30. Which of the boys was the 5^oungest ? 

31. Why did the horse stand still and watch 
George ? 

32. Why did George talk to the horse and 
pat its nose? 

33. Why did he put a bridle on its head? 

34. Why could not the horse throw George 
from its back ? 

35. What made the horse gallop about the 
field? 

36. What finally happened to the horse ? 
T,']. Did George intend to kill the horse? 

38. Why did not his mother punish him ? 

39. Which of the boys was the best horse- 
man? How do you know ? 



10 BI TS OF HIS TOR } '. 



WASHINGTON AND HIS DOG. 



WHEN George Washington was a boy, he 
had a good dog named Governor. George 
was fond of Governor, and he loved to play 
and go hunting with him. 

One day George took his gun on his shoulder 
and went to the woods to shoot game. His 
favorite dog went with him as usual. They 
walked about the woods for several hours. 
Pretty soon it began to rain and the air was 
thick with fog, so that George could hardly see. 
He started to go home, but he had no compass 
and he soon lost his wa3^ He wandered about 
the woods for some time trying to find the way 
to his home, but he did not succeed. He was 
lost in the thick woods, and there were no 
friends near b}" to help him. His gun and 
clothes were wet, and he was cold and hungry. 
He felt much troubled. He sat down on a log 
and thought how he could find the way to his 
home. 



BITS OF HISTORY. ii 

Suddenly a new thought came info his head. 
If he could frighten Governor, he knew that 
the dog would leave him and run straight 
toward home. Then he could follow the dog, 
and the dog would lead him safely home. He 
loved his dog and did not like to ill-treat him, but 
he felt that he must do so to save his own life. 

So he called Governor to him. Then he 
took his pocket-flask and his powder-horn and 
fastened them to the dog's tail. Then he took 
off his belt and tied one end of it to the dog's 
collar. Then quickly he kicked the dog and 
shouted loudly. The dog became much fright- 
ened, and ran rapidly through the woods, over 
logs, stones, and stumps. George held on to 
the end of the belt and followed the dog, but 
the dog ran very fast and pulled hard on the 
belt. Pretty soon the belt broke, and the dog 
ran away towards home. 

At every leap of the dog, the flask and 
powder-horn struck against each other, making 
a rattling noise. This frightened the dog much 
more, and he ran towards home still faster. 
George kept on following him for some time, 
but soon he grew tired and lost sight of the dog 
among the bushes. Then he followed the dog's 
tracks. After some time he arrived on the 
bank of the Potomac river. Then he knew 
the way and was very glad. He traveled on 



12 BITS OF HISTORY. 

and soon arrived home, where he found Gov- 
ernor. He patted his head and spoke kindh^ to 
him and look the thinjj^s from his tail, hut the 
dog refused to be comforted. He alwa3^s remem- 
bered Geornre's trick, and was shy when he 
heard liis voice. 



^Mlat was Governor ? 
Who was Governor's master? 
Why was George fond of Governor? 
4. When did George Washington have a 



J 



dog? 

5. Why did George keep a dog? 

6. Why did George go to the woods one 
day ? 

7. What followed George to the woods ? 

8. Why did George take his gun to the 
woods ? 

9. For what did George search in the 

woods ? 

10. Did George shoot any game ? 

11. How came his gun and clothes to get 
wet ? 

12. Whv could he not see plainly in the 

woods ? 

13. What happened to George? 

14. Why could he not find the way home? 

15. How did he feel ? Why ? 



BITS OF HISTORY. ij 

1 6. On what did he sit? 

1 7. What did he think about on the log ? 

18. Wliat did he conclude to do ? 

19. Why did he conclude to frighten Gov- 
ernor ? 

20. What did he dislike to do ? 

21. What did he fasten to the dog's tail? 
Why ? 

22. Why did he fasten his belt to the dog's 
collar ? 

23. What frightened the dog at first ? 

24. Which way did the frightened dog run ? 

25. Did George let go of the belt? 

26. What caused the belt to break ? 

27. Did the dog stop running when the belt 
broke ? 

28. Wliy could not George keep up with the 
dog? 

29. When the dog had gone out of sight, 
how did George know which way he went ? 

30. What body of water did George recog- 
nize ? 

31. Why did George feel glad ? 

32. Where did George find Governor? 

T,Z- Why did he pat the dog's head and speak 
kindly to him ? 

34. What did George fail to do ? 

35. Why was Governor always sh}^ of George 
after this ? 



WASIIIXGTON AND THE POACIIRR. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON'S father was a 
rich man. When he died, George became 
the owner of a large tract of land. It was near 
the Potomac river. Part of it was in tields 
and pastures, but the most of it was covered 
with woods. 

When George was a boy he was ver}^ fond 
of hunting. There were many kinds of game 
in his own woods, and he did not like to have 
other people to go hunting there. 

Once, wdien George was sixteen years old, 
a certain poacher annoyed him a great deal. 
This man lived on the farther bank of the 
river, and he often crossed the river in a boat 
to George's woods to shoot game. Several 
times George caught him there and ordered 
him to go away, but he disobe3'ed and came 
there again. 

One day George heard the report of a gun, 
and he knew that the man w^as shooting the game 
in his woods. He felt very much displeased. 
He mounted his horse and rode rapidly to the 



BITS OF HISTORY. 75 

place, but the man saw George coining and ran 
to his boat. Then he pushed it from the shore, 
but George arrived quickly at the place. The 
man aimed his gun at him and said that he 
would shoot, if he came near. But George was 
a brave boy. He drove his horse into the river, 
seized the man by his collar, and brought him 
to the shore. Then he took off the man's coat 
and gave him a severe whipping with his horse- 
whip. After this the man gave George no 
more trouble. 

1. How do you know that Washington's 
father was a rich man ? 

2. Where was Washington's farm situated ? 

3. Where is the Potomac river ? 

4. What lived in Washington's woods ? 

5. Did George like to hunt ? 

6. Why did he forbid other people to hunt 
in his woods ? 

7. How did the poacher trouble George ? 

8. What is a poacher ? 

9. How did the poacher reach George 
Washington's woods ? 

10. Why did he shoot the game ? 

11. How did George know that the poacher 
was shooting game in his woods one day ? 

1 2. How old was George then ? 

13. How did George go to the river ? 



i6 BITS OF HISTORY. 

14. Why was George displeased ? 

15. Why did the man run to his boat ? 

16. Why did he aim his gun at George? 

1 7. How do you know that George was a 
brave bo}^ ? 

18. Wh}^ did he drive his horse into the 
river ? 

19. Why did he take ot¥ the man's coat 
before whipping him ? 

20. \\\\\ did not the man trouble George 
again ? 

21. With what did George punish the 
poacher ? 

22. Why did he punish him ? 

23. Did he do right to punish him ? 

24. How man}^ times did George order the 
poacher out of his woods ? 

25. What is game ? 

26. Did 3'ou ever go hunting for game ? 

27. Wh}^ do people shoot game ? 

28. Is it right to shoot game for fun ? 

29. What kind of game do you like best 
to eat ? 



THE DETECTED THIEF. 



o 



NE night one of Washington's soldiers at 
Valley Forge awoke. He felt ver^^ hun- 
gry, because he had eaten nothing for a long 
time. He got up and went out of his hut. He 
did not wish to awaken the other soldiers, so 
he walked ver}^ noiselessly^ He went to a 
farmer's house, which was about a mile awa}^ 
and found the farmer's hen-coop. He went 
into it and stole several hens. He took them 
to the woods. There he picked and dressed 
them. He kindled a fire and roasted them. 
Then he sat on a log near the fire and ate as 
much of the roasted hens as he wanted. There 
was some left. He did not want to waste it, 
so he hid it under a log. He planned to come 
there again, when he was hungr}^ Then he 
went back to his hut and fell asleep again. 

The next morning the farmer awoke. He 
put on his clothes and went out to look at his 
hens. He counted them. Several of them were 
missing. He looked about and saw a man's 
tracks in the snow. He suspected that one of 
Washington's soldiers had stolen his hens, and 
he was much displeased. He went to W^ash- 



1 8 BITS OF HISTORY. 

ington and^told him about it. Washin^j^ton felt 
sorn^ for the farmer, and told him that he 
would tr}" to catch the thief. 

By and b3^ Washington called all his sol- 
diers. He told them to stand in rows with 
their arms folded. The}" all obeyed him. Then 
Washington pointed to the farmer and said to 
his soldiers : " One of j^ou was so mean as to 
go to this man's house and steal several of his 
hens last night. I hate stealing. I cannot 
allow^ my soldiers to steal. I must put a stop 
to the business. Now I want the soldier who 
stole those hens last night to raise his hand and 
confess to me at once." Washington hxed his 
eyes on the soldiers and waited several minutes." 
They all kept silent and answered not a word. 

Then Washington spoke to them again and 
said : " I understand that 3^ou intend to keep 
this matter a secret. I shall have to catch the 
thief m3"self. I know the soldier who stole 
those hens. I see him now. He has a feather 
on his nose." Quickly one of the soldiers put 
his hand to his nose, as if to brush off the 
feather. Washington saw him do it, and 
arrested him. The soldier confessed that he 
stole the hens. He said that he could not 
resist the temptation, because he was so hungry. 
He promised not to do so again, so Washington 
forirave him. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 19 

1. Where is Valley Forge ? Who were 
stopping there ? 

2. What season of the year was it ? How 
do you know ? 

3. Why was one of Washington's soldiers 
hungry ? 

4. When did the soldier leave the hut ? 

5. Where did he go ? Why did he walk 
quietly ? 

6. How far away did he go ? Into what 
did he go ? 

7. How many hens did he take from the 
coop ? 

8. To whom did the hens belong ? 

9. Where did the soldier carry the hens ? 

10. What did he do with them ? 

1 1. How did he cook them ? 

12. Why did he not take them to his hut ? 

1 3. How much of the roasted hens did he eat ? 

14. Why did he hide the remainder under a 
log? 

15. What did he do when he went back to 
the hut ? 

16. How did the farmer know that some 
of his hens had been stolen ? 

1 7. What made him think that one of Wash- 
ington's soldiers had stolen his hens. 

18. How did he feel ? To whom did he go ? 

19. About what did he tell Washington ? 



20 BI TS OF HIS TOR Y. 

20. How did Washington feel ? What did 
he promise to do ? 

21. What did Washington order his soldiers 
to do ? 

22. Why did he do this ? What did he tell 
his soldiers about? 

23. Was Washington willing to allow his 
soldiers to steal ? 

24. Whom did Washington order to raise 
his hand ? 

25. Did the soldier obey Washington ? 

26. To whom did Washington speak a second 
time ? 

27. What did he accuse the soldier of doing ? 

28. What did he sa}^ that he must do? 

29. What did Washington pretend to know ? 

30. Whom did he pretend to see ? 

31. What did he say was on the soldier's 
nose ? 

32. Which soldier put his hand to his nose ? 
II. Was there really a feather on his nose ? 
34. Wh}^ did he try to brush the feather from 

his nose? 

T^^. What did Washinton see ? 

36. Did he catch the right man? How do 
you know ? 

l-]. Why was the soldier tempted to steal 
the hens ? 

38. Why did Washington forgive him ? 



CAPTURED WITH WOODEN CANNON. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON'S home was at 
Mt. Vernon, Va. He had a wife, but no 
children. He owned a large farm and he loved 
to stay at home and take care of it. But in the 
5^ear 1777 Congress chose him commander of all 
the American soldiers. He did not want to 
leave home, but he loved the Americans and 
was willing to help them fight for their free- 
dom. So he left home and traveled on horse- 
back to Cambridge, Mass. There he met the 
American army and took command of it under 
a large elm tree. The army was a very humble 
one, indeed. Many of the soldiers wore old 
ragged clothes. Many of them had no guns, 
swords, or pistols. Some of them took their 
pitch-forks, and used them instead of guns. 
Others carried sticks and clubs. But Wash- 
ington worked hard. He soon put the army 
in good order, and got good guns and swords 
for the soldiers. 

Washington was a good strategist. Once 
he wished to take a certain fort from the 
British, but he had no cannon. He knew that 



22 BITS OF HISTORY. 

he could not capture the fort without cannon. 
So he thought of a plan to deceive the British. 
He ordered his men to cut down several trees. 
Then they took the trunks of the trees and 
shaped them like cannon. They then painted 
them black and placed them upon cart wheels. 
When everything was ready, Washington and 
his men marched against the British fort. The 
British saw Washington's cannon and were 
deceived. They thought the Americans were 
poor and had no cannon. They wondered 
where they got them. They imagined that the 
French people had sent them many cannon, 
and the}^ were much alarmed. They did not 
dare to fight against the Americans, so they 
surrendered. Then Washington took the fort 
and made all the British in it prisoners. But 
the British were very much mortified when 
they saw Washington's wooden cannon. 



1. What was the name of Washington's 
home? 

2. Where was it situated ? 

3. Was Washington a father ? 

4. Why did Washington consent to be 
commander of the Americans ? 

5. Who selected him to command the 
American army ? 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



6. Where did he take command of the 
army ? 

7. How did he go there ? 

8. What was the condition of the army 
when he became its commander ? 

9. Why did not Washington capture the 
British fort? 

ID. How did he plan to deceive tlie Britisli ? 

11. Was it riglit for liim to deceive the 
British ? 

1 2. How did Washington get the logs ? 

13. Why did he paint the logs black ? 

14. How did the Americans move the log 
cannon about ? 

15. What did the British think that the 
logs were ? 

16. Why did the British think that the 
French people had sent some cannon to the 
Americans ? 

17. Why did the British surrender to the 
Americans ? 

- 18. Why were the British ashamed ? 

19. Were the wooden cannon useful ? 

20. Where is Cambridge ? 

21. Why did not Washington ride in the 
cars from his home to Cambridge ? 

22. How old was Washington when he took 
command of the American army. 



A PLOT TO POISON WASHINGTON. 



NOT all the people in the United States 
favored the war of the Revolution. Some 
of them were friends of the British. The}' 
thou<^ht that the British were ri<rht to h^ht 
against the Americans. These people were 
called Tories. They gave Washington a great 
deal of trouble. Often, when he thought that 
they were his friends, they proved to be his 
worst enemies. They were like wolves in 
sheep's clothing. Washington had to be very 
careful, because they often sought to capture 
him, or to put him to death. He therefore kept 
guards to watch over himself night and day. 

At one time Washington was stopping in 
New York. One da3^ while he was there, a 
Tory met one of his guards near his front gate 
and began to talk with him. He tempted the 
guard, and told him that he would give him a 
large sum of money, if he would poison Wash- 
ington some da3\ 

The guard had always loved Washington. 
He hesitated for a few minutes. Then he 
thought to himself : " 1 am a poor man. I have 



BITS OF HISTORY. 23 

to work hard for my living. Now I have a 
good chance to earn a large sum of money with 
only a little work." 

At last the guard yielded to the wicked 
Tory. They talked with each other for a long 
time. That afternoon the guard saw a farmer 
carrying some green peas to Washington's 
house. He knew that he would have peas for 
dinner the next day, so he decided to put some 
arsenic into the peas while they were cooking. 

A little girl was standing in the yard behind 
some bushes at a little distance from the gate. 
The Tory and guard did not see her, but she 
saw them and heard all that they planned to 
do to Washington. She felt ver}^ sorry for him, 
and she went to him and told him all about it. 

Washington thanked the girl. He kept very 
quiet. There was an honest soldier in his army 
whose name was James. Washington was very 
fond of him, because he could always trust him. 
So he called James into his house and told him 
about the plot to poison him. James took off 
his soldier's clothes and dressed himself like a 
cook. Then he went into the kitchen and pre- 
tended to work, while he watched the peas, 
which were cooking on the stove. 

By and by the dishonest guard came to the 
kitchen. He did not see James. He took a 
small package from his pocket, opened it, and 



26 BITS OF HISTORY. 

sprinkled some powder into the pot of peas. 
James was hiding behind a door, and he saw 
all that the guard did. He knew his name. It 
was Henry. James went to Washington and 
told him the whole story. 

When dinner was ready, Washington and 
his officers took seats around the table. Then 
W' ashington said to them : "Wait a minute, 
and 1 will call in my guards." The guards all 
came into the room and stood around the table. 
Then Washington took a spoon and dipped 
some of the peas into his plate. He tixed his 
e3xs on Henr^^ and said to him: "Shall I eat 
this plate of peas ? " Henr3^'s face turned pale. 
He said in a low voice : " I do not know." 
Then Washington took a spoonful of the peas, 
put them to his mouth, and said : " Shall I eat 
this spoonful of peas ? " Henry could not 
answer. He fell fainting to the floor. When 
he recovered, he was taken away and put into 
prison. 

General W^ashington's life was saved. To 
show that the peas were poisoned, James caught 
a chicken and fed it with some of them. The 
chicken died in a few minutes. Then the}^ all 
knew that the peas were certainly poisoned. 
Washington felt very grateful to the little girl 
for telling him about his dishonest guard." 



BITS OF HISTORY. 27 

1. Who were the Tories? 

2. How did the Tories often trouble Wash- 
ington ? 

3. Why did Washington keep guards 
around him ? 

4. What happened one day while Washing- 
ton was in New York ? 

5. Why did the guard hesitate ? 

6. Why did he consent to poison Wash- 
ington ? 

7. How did he arrange to poison him ? 

8. What are peas ? 

9. Who heard the Tory and guard planning 
to poison Washington ? 

10. Where was the little girl ? 

1 1. Why did the guard not see her ? 

1 2. Why did she tell Washington about the 
plot? 

13. Did Washington believe her? 

14. How do you know ? 

15. Was Washington frightened when he 
heard about the plot ? 

16. Who was James ? Why did Washington 
call him into the house ? 

17. Why was James Washington's warm 
friend ? 

18. Why did James dress himself like a cook ? 

19. What did the dishonest guard put into 
the pot of peas ? 



2S BI TS OF HIS TOR V. 

20. Who saw him ? Where was James ? 

21. What was the guard's name? 

22. How did Washington know that he 
poisoned the peas ? 

23. Where were Washington and his ofhcers? 
Where were his guards ? 

24. Why did Washington speak to Henry 
alone ? 

25. Why did Henr^^'s face turn pale when 
Washington spoke to him ? 

26. Wh}^ did not Washington eat the peas ? 

27. Who saved Washington's life ? 

28. How do 3^ou know that the peas would 
have killed Washington ? 

29. To whom did Washington feel grateful ? 
Why ? 

30. Why did the Tories want to poison 
Washington ? 

31. Did they succeed ? 

32. Did Henr}^ receive the sum of money 
from the Tories ? 

^T,. Wh}^ did Washington send Henr}" to 
prison ? 

34. Do you think that Henry felt happy 
after this ? 

35. If the Tories had poisoned Washington, 
do 3'ou think the Americans would ha\e won 
their freedom ? 




PUTNAM'S FIGHT WITH FIRE. 



DURING the French and Indian War, the 
Enorlish had a fort near the Hudson 
river in New York. It was called ' Fort 



JO BITS OF HISTORY. 

Edward. In it were stored many cannon, guns, 
balls, and three hundred barrels of gun- 
powder. 

One day Fort Edward took fire. The men 
in the fort tried hard to put out the tire, but 
could not. The fire spread. It had almost 
reached the barrels of powder. The men 
began to be afraid that the powder would soon 
explode and kill them all. They were l)egin- 
ning to run awa3\ 

Just then Israel Putnam came running 
towards the fort. He had been stationed on an 
island in the Hudson river at some distance 
from the fort with some soldiers. He saw the 
smoke rolling up in clouds over Fort Edward. 
He knew that the fort was on fire. So he 
hastened there to help put out the fire. Arriv- 
ing at the fort, he quickly climbed upon the 
roof and ordered the men to hand him pails of 
water. He poured many pails of water upon 
the fire, but the flames grew hotter and hotter. 
The fire was now only a few feet fron the bar- 
rels of powder. Three hundred barrels of 
powder was a big pile. If it took fire, it would 
explode, shatter the fort and kill everybody 
near it. 

Colonel Haviland was in command of the 
fort. He saw that the flames were approach- 
ing the powder, he saw Putnam's great danger 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



and ordered him to come down from the roof. 
But Putnam stuck to his work. He kept 
throwing pails of water upon the fire. Pretty 
soon the boards on the roof were burned 
through. Then he had no place to stand. So 
he jumped to the ground, but still he did not 
leave the fort. He stood between the barrels 
of powder and the burning fort. Again he 
emptied pails of water upon the fire. The 
flames were now only a few inches from the 
powder. Still brave Putnam remained at his 
work. By and by after a hard fight for more 
than two hours, the flames subsided and the 
fire was put out. Putnam saved the powder 
and much of the fort. His hands and face 
were badly burned, and there were many 
blisters on his body. These burns pained him 
very much. It was several weeks before he 
got well, but he did not mind all these troubles. 
He had saved the powder and he felt satisfied. 



SA VED BY AN ENEMY. 



ONXE (lurinjT the French and Indian War, 
Israel Putnam and his soldiers were at 
Fort Ann in the State of New York. 

One day he took his gun on his shoulder 
and went a little distance from the fort. He 
wished to try his gun to see if it would shoot 
well. He tired it at a tree, and hit it. He 
loaded his gun again. Again he fired and hit 
the tree a second time. 

Suddenly he heard a noise. He looked 
towards the woods, and saw Capt. Marin with 
man}" French and Indian soldiers coming 
toward the fort. Putnam hastened to the fort. 
He shouted to his soldiers : " The enemy is 
coming." Immediately all his soldiers took 
their guns and ran to meet Marin and his sol- 
diers. In the battle many soldiers were killed 
on each side. 

B}" and by a tall and stout Indian came up 
to Gen. Putnam and shouted: "Surrender. 
Lay down your gun." Putnam re])lied: "I 
will die first." Then he raised his gun to shoot 
the Indian, but it would not go off. Ouickly 



BITS OF HISTORY. jj 

the Indian sprang forward. He seized Put- 
nam, tied his hands behind liim and bound liim 
to a tree. Poor Putnam could not move. The 
battle continued. Many balls flew past Put- 
nam's head. Some of them struck his clothes 
and tore them, but he was not hurt. 

By and by an Indian boy came to the 
tree. He saw Putnam. He pointed his finge? 
at him and laughed. Then the bo}^ took his 
tomahawk and threw it at Putnam's head. It 
did not hit him, but it cut off a few hairs 
from his head. He threw it at his head 
again. It stuck fast in the tree, but it did not 
hurt Putnam. He tried again and again, but 
Putnam was still unhurt. Then, the boy 
shouted: "You are an old wizard," and went 
away. 

In a short time a brave French soldier came 
to the tree. He looked scornfully at Putnam, 
and put his gun to Putnam's breast. He 
meant to shoot him, but his gun missed fire. 
'^ This made him angrj^ He raised his gun and 
struck Putnam on the face with it. Then he 
walked awa}^ 

Pretty soon many Indians came to the tree. 
They danced around Putnam and shouted: 
" Fun, fun. Now we shall have some fun." 
Then they unbound him and made him stand 
up. Next they took off his coat, vest, shoes. 



34- BITS OF HISTORY. 

and stockings. Then, they made him walk 
through the woods over sharp stones, sticks, 
and stubbles. His bare feet were torn and 
bleeding. His hands were swollen, because 
the cords were tied so tightly around them. 

By and by it began to grow dark. The In- 
dians talked with each other, and decided to 
•roast Putnam alive. They took him to a tree 
and bound him to it with strong cords. He 
could not move. Then they gathered many 
dry sticks, placed them around him and set 
them on lire. The tire began to grow hot. 
Suddenly a shower of rain fell and put the tire 
out. The Indians gathered more dr}^ sticks 
and kindled a new fire. The fire grew hotter 
and hotter. Poor Putnam felt sure that he 
would soon be burned to death. Quickly a 
French officer sprang forward. The officer 
was Marin. He was Putnam's enem}" on the 
battle-field, but he was his friend now. He 
([uickly snatched the burning sticks, threw 
them away and thus put the out fire. The/ 
Indians were very angry at Marin, and tried to 
stop him, but he unbound l^itnam and set him 
free. 



1. Who was Israel Putnam? 

2. Why was the "French and Indian War" 
so called ? 



BITS OF HISTORY. J5 

3. Where was Fort Ann ? 

4. Why did Putnam fire his gun at a tree 
one day? 

5. Wliat happened, wliile he was sliooting 
at tlie tree ? 

6. Wliy did Putnam run to tlie fort ? 

7. When the two armies met each other, 
what liappened ? 

8. Did you ever see soldiers figliting in a 
battle? 

9. Who spoke to Putnam during the battle? 

10. Wliy did not Putnam shoot the Indian? 

11. What did the Indian do to Putnam? 

12. Why did not Putnam free himself from 
the tree ? 

13. How were his clothes torn ? 

14. Why did an Indian boy throw a toma- 
hawk at Putnam's head? 

15. How many times did he throw the toma- 
hawk at Putnam ^ 

16. Did he kill Putnam? 

17. Who next came to Putnam ? 

18. Why did he not shoot Putnam? 

19. Why did he strike Putnam with his gun ? 

20. Who next came to Putnam ? 

21. Why did the Indians torment Putnam ? 

22. What did they finally decide to do to 
Putnam ? 

23. Why did the}^ bind him to a tree? 



j6 LVTS OF ///STORY'. 

24. With what did the Indians make a tire? 

25. What liappened just as the lire began to 
grow hot? 

26. Why did the Indians gather more sticks ? 

27. Whcit did Putnam tliink would soon 
happen to him ? 

28. Who saved Putnam's life? 

29. How did Marin put the lire out? 

30. Wh}^ were the Indians angry at Marin? 




PUTNAM'S DARING RIDE. 



AT one time during tlie year 1779, Israel 
Putnam was visiting some of his troops at 
West Greenwicli, Conn. One night, wliile he 
was there, lie stopped at the house of a friend, 



jS BI TS OF 1 1 IS TOR I '. 



named Ebenezer Mead. The next morning he 
awoke earl}'. He j^ot up and dressed himself. 
There was much business for him to attend to 
durinj^ that da}'. He wanted to save time. So 
he prepared to shave himself, before he was 
called to breakfast. 

He stood before a lar^e lookin<^-^lass in his 
room. He took his razor and shaved one side 
of his face. Suddenly he saw the reflection of 
a body of British troops in the ^lass. They 
were comin^^ up the road towards Mr. Alead's 
house. Putnam quickly threw down his razor, 
buckled on his sword and mounted his horse. 
He galloped away quickly to arouse his sol- 
diers to fight the British troops. But in the 
hurry, he could collect only a hundred and fifty 
men. With this small force and two cannon, 
he went to the top of a hill near the village 
church. There they all waited for the Brit- 
ish troops to come up. 

Governor Tryon was the commander of the 
British troops. He had nearly fifteen hundred 
men. Among them were many Hessians and a 
band of horsemen. 

Putnam saw that it was of no use to fight, 
because he had not enough men. So he order- 
ed his men to run for their lives. Quickly the 
Americans scattered. Many of them ran to a 
swam]) near by and escaped. Putnam alone 



BITS OF HISTORY. jg 

galloped his horse towards Stamford. The 
British horsemen saw him, and began to 
chase him. Putnam spurred his horse and gal- 
loped away still faster. But the British horse- 
men came nearer and nearer to hfm. Putnam 
felt sure that they would soon overtake him 
and capture him. He was much troubled. He 
did not want to be made a prisoner. At first 
he did not know what to do. Suddenly he 
turned his horse from the road and galloped 
to the top of a steep hill. The British horse- 
men followed him. 

On the farther side of the hill, there were a 
hundred stone steps. They were cut in the 
solid rock for the people of the village to go up 
and down on their way to and from church on 
Sunday. When Putnam arrived at these steps, 
he saw that the British horsemen were close 
upon him. Then with daring courage, he gal- 
loped his horse down those steep steps to the 
bottom of the hill. While his faithful horse 
was carrying him down, he turned his head 
around and saw the British horsemen standing 
at the top of the steps. He waved his sword to 
them and beckoned them to follow him, if they 
dare. But they were not bold enough to do it. 
They fired a few shots at him. One ball 
made a hole in his hat, but good old Putnam 
was not hurt. 



40 BITS OF HISTORY. 

When Putnam reached the foot of the steps, 
he galloped awa}^ like a deer. He reined his 
horse around the hill, and soon found the road 
again. Then away he went to Stamford, and 
there he was safe. 

The British horsemen were much disap- 
pointed. They thought that the}' would cer- 
tainly catch Putnam. They knew that the}^ 
would receive a large reward, if they caught 
their old enemy. But now they had lost him. 
When the}' almost had him, he had slipped out 
of their hands. 

I think that Putnam's friends had a good 
laugh, when they saw him with one side of his 
face well-shaved and the other side covered 
with whiskers. But perhaps he told them that 
it was a new fashion. 



ETHAN ALLEN A PRISONER. 

DURING the Revolutionary War Ethan 
Allen and an officer, named Brown, planned 
to capture Montreal, in Canada, by night. 
Brown promised to meet Allen on the farther 
side of the St. Lawrence river before daylight. 
In the night Allen and his men crossed the 
river in boats. There they waited for Brown 
with his men to help them. Daylight arrived, 
but Brown did not come. Allen was much dis- 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



41 



appointed. He was in a trap. He was discov- 
ered by the Britisli, before he had time to 
re-cross the river. He and the Americans 
fought the Britisli bravel3^ but at last Allen 
and all the Americans were taken prisoners. 

Gen. Prescott was the captor of Allen and 
the American prisoners. He was a ver}^ cruel 
man. He treated Allen and the Americans 
very shamefully. This was the same Prescott 
whom Colonel Barton captured in Rhode 
Island. Read the stor}^ in another part of this 
book, and you will learn what a mean and un- 
lovely man he really was. 

After some time Ethan Allen and many 
American prisoners were put on board a British 
ship to be taken to England. The captain of 
the British ship treated Allen kindly and gave 
him a nice, warm room to sleep in and plent}^ of 
good food to eat. Allen did not forget the 
captain's kindness. 

While the ship was sailing on the ocean, 
several of the American prisoners talked 
secretly with each other. They formed a plan 
to kill the captain and to seize the ship and all 
the money and other things in it. They told 
their plan privately to the other prisoners on 
board the ship and asked them to promise to 
help them. Nearly all the prisoners 34elded to 
the temptation and agreed to join them. At 



42 BITS OF HISTORY. 

last they tried to persuade Allen to join Ihem. 
He was an^ry at them and sternly refused to 
do so. He told them that he would help the 
captain instead of them, if they did an\' thing 
wron<^ to him. He also told them that the cap- 
tain was a <^ood man and that it was wicked to 
do him any harm. These bold words from 
Allen's lips frightened the other prisoners and 
they gave up the plot. 



ETHAN ALLEN'S NOTE. 

ETHAN Allen was as honest as he was brave. 
At a certain time he had no money with him, 
and he was ver}^ much in need of some. So he 
went to a friend and asked him if he could lend 
him a hundred and hfty dollars. The friend 
was willing to help him. He loaned him the 
money, and Allen gave him a note for it. 

When the time arrived for Allen to pa}^ the 
note, his friend went to him and asked him for 
the money. Allen said to his friend : " I am 
sorry, T have no monev now. Please wait £i tew 
months longer, mid tlicn I will ]iav you." But 
his friend was angry, and said : "No. I cannot 
wait. T want the monev now. Tf vou do not 
pa}^ mc immediately, I will ])ut you in jail." 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



Then Allen went to a law3^er and asked him to 
compel his friend to wait a few months for the 
mone}^ 

Allen, his law3^er, his friend, and his friend's 
lawj^ers all assembled in the court-room. By 
and by Allen's lawyer stood up and began to 
speak. He told the judge that the note was 
not good, and that Allen ought never to pa}^ it, 
because Allen had never signed his name to it. 
He said that it was not Allen's hand-writing, 
but that some other person had falsely written 
Allen's name instead. When Allen heard these 
words from his lawyer, his face turned red with 
anger. He jumped quickly to his feet. He 
rushed up boldly before his law3^er and said in 
a loud voice : "Sir, I did not hire 3^ou to come 
here and lie. That is a true note. I signed it, 
and I will pa3^ it. I hate tricker3^ All I want 
is more time." The judge allowed him more 
time and iVllen paid the full value of the note. 



THE MISSIONARY AND THE 
RA TTLESNAKE. 

COUNT ZINZENDORF was a missionary. 
He loved God and his Bible. Many years 
ago, he cam.e from Europe to America. While he 
was visiting in America, he met man3^ Indians. 
He felt pity for them, because thev had no Bibles 



44- P>I TS OF Ills TOR V. 



and could not read and write. He wanted to 
help them. He wished to teach them about 
God and Jesus Christ. 

Once, while he was visitin<r in Penns^dvania. 
he heard that many Indians lived near the \'al- 
le}^ of Wyoming. He determined to go there 
and teach them to read the Bible. So he took 
his tent far away into the woods and pitched 
it on the banks of the Susquehanna river. 
But the Indians were wicked and cruel. They 
would not believe the good missionary, and 
refused to listen to his teachings. They su])- 
posed that he had come to steal their lands. So 
the}" resolved to murder him. 

One day the missionary was sitting on the 
ground under the shade of a large tree near his 
tent, and a warm tire was burning on the 
ground beside him. He was reading his Bible 
very attentively, and did not look about him. 
In a few minutes two Indians peeped out of the 
l)ushes, and saw the good missionary. They 
each took a long, sharp knife from his belt and 
walked on tip-toe towards him. When they 
came near him, they stopped for a minute and 
looked at his face. They were amazed, because 
it was so calm and holy. 

One Indian raised his knife and was going to 
L'ill the missionary. Just then a large rattle- 
snake crawled out of its hole, which was near 



BITS OF HISTORY. 4.5 

the fire. It glided over the missionar5^'s feet, 
but it did not bite or hurt him. Indeed, he was 
so busy that he did not see either the Indians 
or the snake. The Indians were astonished, 
and thought that the Great Spirit took care of 
the missionary. They were afraid to kill him. 
So they crept silently away from the tent. 
Then they ran and told the news to the other 
Indians. 

After this all the Indians in the woods re- 
spected and loved the good missionary. They 
listened to his teachings and many of them 
became Christians. 



JASPER AND THE FLAG. 

NE pleasant day in June, 1776, Governor 
Rutledge of South Carolina received a 
letter. It said that many British ships were 
coming to attack Charleston. 

The Governor called his messenger-bo}^ and 
told him to carry the letter quickly to Colonel 
Moultrie. 

Colonel Moultrie was a brave soldier who 
commanded the American soldiers at Charles- 
ton. He read the letter and told the news to his 
soldiers. Then he ordered them to get the 



46 BI TS OF HIS TOR ) '. 

boats ready and to hasten to Sullivan Island. 
This island is in the middle of Charleston Har- 
bor. 

When the soldiers arrived at the island, they 
cut down many palmetto trees. They took the 
k)<^s and made a high wall. Then the}^ took 
their shovels and threw up ci large bank of 
earth around the logs. They were building a 
fort. They kept busy at work for several 
hours. The fort was nearly finished. They 
called it Fort Moultrie in honor of their com- 
mander. 

Pretty soon one ship appeared. Then 
another came in sight, then another, and 
another. B}^ and by the whole British fleet, 
with its w^hite sails spread, came proudly up the 
harbor. The Americans had no time to waste. 
They quickly loaded their cannon and set the 
American flag flying over the fort. 

The ships came nearer and nearer. Pretty 
soon two of them anchored at a little distance 
from the fort. Colonel Moultrie watched them 
through his spy-glass. "They are going to fire 
their cannon at us. Get everything ready," he 
shouted. Immediateh^ a shower of balls struck 
the fort. Not one American was killed, nor was 
the fort injured. "Now fire," cried out Colonel 
Moultrie. Quickly a thundering noise was 
heard, and the smoke rose in clouds over the 



BITS OF HISTORY. 47 

fort. When the smoke had cleared away, the 
Americans could see that the two British ships 
were shattered and the sails torn, and that their 
decks were covered with the bodies of the dead. 
The Americans were delighted. They loaded 
their cannon again and got everything ready. 
In a few minutes other British ships came up 
near the fort. They also sent a shower of balls 
at the fort, and the Americans returned the 
fire. 

In the hottest of the battle, a ball from one 
of the British ships struck the flag-staff of the 
fort, and the flag fell outside of the fort on the 
beach. The British soldiers saw it fall and were 
glad. There was one brave American in the 
fort. His name was William Jasper. He saw 
the flag falling. He cried out : " I must go and 
get that flag and place it on the fort again." 
"No. Don't you go. You will certainly be 
killed," shouted his fellow-soldiers. "But I 
must go," replied the brave Jasper. Then he 
leaped over the wall of the fort and ran along 
the beach to the flag. The balls from the Brit- 
ish ships rained thickly around him. Some of 
them flew whistling past his ears. Others 
struck the ground a few feet from him. His 
eyes were filled with dirt and dust, but he was 
not hurt. He bravely took the flag from the 
ground, fastened it to a sponge-stick of a 



48 BI rS Of JUS TOR ) \ 

cannon, and stuck it upright upon the fort. 
Then he jumped inside of the fort and took his 
place at his cannon again. His fellow-soldiers 
were glad to see him back and still alive. They 
ran to him. They clapi)ed him on the shoulders 
and cried out: "Hurrah, Hurrah! for Jasper." 
The battle continued for nine hours. The 
flag remained waving over the fort all that 
time. At last the British were beaten, and they 
sailed aw^ay feeling very much ashamed. The 
next morning Governor Rutledge visited the 
fort. Colonel Moultrie told him about Jasper's 
brave act. The Governor was so much pleased 
that he presented him with his own sword. 



JASPER SPRING. 



AFTER the battle of Fort Moultrie, William 
fasper was allowed to travel about the 
country to watch the British arm}'. He was 
called a scout. 

One day he was hiding in the woods near 
the town of Ebenezer, Ga., with a friend, named 
Newton. Pretty soon they saw eight British 
soldiers leading a band of prisoners alpng the 
road. A woman and a little child were follow- 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



ing the prisoners. The woman's name was 
Mrs. Jones. She was crying very bitterly, 
because the soldiers were taking her husband 
to Savannah to be hanged the next day. Her 
husband was not a bad man. He thought that 
the British were wrong to fight against the 
Americans. He, therefore, left the British army 
and joined the American army. But the British 
caught him. They called him a traitor, 
and decided to hang him with several other 
prisoners. 

Sergeant Jasper and his companion could not 
help pit3dng poor Mrs. Jones and her child. 
They resolved to try to save the lives of the 
prisoners. But how could they do it ? Each of 
the eight soldiers had a loaded gun, and they 
had none.. It was a difficult task, but they 
resolved to try. 

There was a spring of pure, cold water in a 
little forest at some distance from Savannah. 
It was near the road, and Jasper thought cer- 
tainly the soldiers would stop there to get a 
drink. So he and Mr. Newton ran ahead of 
the soldiers and hid in the bushes near the 
spring. They waited there for some time. B}^ 
and by they saw them coming. They kept ver}^ 
quiet. Two of the soldiers stood beside the 
prisoners to watch them. The other six leaned 
their guns against a tree and went to the spring 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



to drink. Quickh^ Jasper and Newton jumped 
from the bushes. They seized the six guns and 
tired two of them at the two guards, killing 
them instantly. The other six soldiers were 
without guns. They could not defend them- 
selves. Therefore they were obliged to sur- 
render. Then Jasper and his friend broke the 
fetters from the prisoners' wrists and set them 
free. They next placed a gun in the hands of 
each prisoner, and ordered them to help drive 
the eight British soldiers to the American camp, 
where they became prisoners of war. Mr. Jones 
was restored to his wife and child and country, 
and now ever^^bod}' honors the noble name of 
Sergeant Jasper. The spring where this event 
occurred is called Jasper spring, and many 
visitors go to see it. 



BITS OF HISTORY 



5^ 








^jrfft ^i%rk 






MAJOR WALDRON. 



DURING King Philip's War, the Indians in 
New England troubled the white settlers a 
great deal. They often came out of the woods, 
burned the people's houses, and killed the poor, 
innocent settlers. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



Once the Governor of Massachusetts sent 
Major Waldron to Dover, in New Hampshire, 
to capture and punish some Indians livin;^ near 
that place. Major Wakh^on was an oUl man. 
His hair was white and his face was wrinkled, 
but he was stronj^ and courageous. 

With man}^ soldiers he went to Dover. He 
did not wish to shoot the Indians, but he wanted 
to take them prisoners. So he thought of a 
plan to deceive them. He loaded man}" guns 
with i)owder, but he put no bullets into them. 
Then he called several friendly Indians and 
told them to carry the guns to the hostile 
Indians. They did so. 

After a little while Major Waldron and his 
soldiers ran to the woods to meet the hostile 
Indians. The Indians raised their guns and fired 
at them, but not one soldier was hurt or killed. 
The Indians were astonished. They could not 
understand why no soldiers fell. Quickly 
Major Waldron and the soldiers surrounded 
them and took four hundred i)risoners. They 
l)Ound their hands together and sent them to 
Boston. Then they were taken in a ship to the 
West Indies and sold as slaves. 

While the s(^ldiers were binding the Indians, 
<^ne of them slyly escaped. He ran to Elizabeth 
Heard's house. She pitied him lyu^ hid him in 
her attic. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 5j 

She gave food and water to him, and took 
good care of him. Pretty soon Major Waldron 
counted the Indian prisoners. One of tliem 
was missing. He searched about for liim for a 
long time, but he could not find him, and gave 
up looking for him. Then Mrs. Heard went to 
her attic and called the Indian. She told him 
that he need not fear any more, because the 
soldiers were gone away. The Indian was 
glad. He went down-stairs with her. He 
thanked her many times, and said : " I will 
always remember 3^ou." Then he went away 
into the woods. He met many other Indians in 
the woods and told them about Major Waldron's 
cruel act. They all said : " We will take 
revenge on that old man." 

Some weeks after, two old Indian women 
came to Major Waldron's house and knocked 
on his door. They pretended to be poor and 
asked if they could sleep in his house during 
the night. He suspected nothing wrong, and 
allowed them to do so. They slept on the floor 
in his kitchen, while he slept in his nice room 
up-stairs. 

When all the lights in the house were put 
out, many Indians came silently from the woods 
to his back door. The old Indian women, who 
pretended to sleep in his kitchen, knew who 
they were. They unfastened the door. Then 



34 BITS OF HISrORY. 

all the Indians 3'elled and rushed into the house. 
Major Waldon heard the noise. He jumped out 
of bed quickly and seized his sword. He met the 
Indians in another room. He fought them 
bravely for some time, and killed one of them. 
He would have killed several more, but one of 
them crept slyly behind his back in the dark 
and struck him on the head with a hatchet. 
Major Waldron fell to the floor ; but he was 
not dead. 

Then they dragged him into his hall. There 
they made him sit in an arm chair. Then they 
tormented him for a long time. Some of them 
cut off his fingers and toes. Others cut off his 
nose and ears. B}^ and by he grew faint and 
weak. He began to lean sidewa3^s. Then the}'' 
placed his sword imder him. He fell upon the 
sharp sword and was killed. 

Just after Major Waldron had died, the 
Indians heard their dogs barking at the door. 
The}^ ran out of the house to see who was 
coming. It was Elizal)eth Heard. She had 
been awa}^ from home all day with her children 
visiting her friends. The boat arrived late. She 
could not go home with her children that night. 
So she planned to stay at Major Waldron's 
house all night. The Indians ran to her and 
intended to kill her and her children. Just 
then one Indian recognized her. It was the 



BITS OF HISTORY 



55 



same Indian whom she hid in her attic a few 
weeks before. He stopped the other Indians, 
and said, "This is a good woman. Do not kill 
her. She saved my life. Now I shall save 
her's." These words softened the hearts of the 
Indians, and they spared both the woman and 
her children. 



THE CAPTURE OF GEN. FRESCO TT 

ONCE during the Revolutionary War, 
Rhode Island fell into the hands of the 
British. While they remained there, the Amer- 
icans suffered a great deal. 

General Prescott commanded the British. 
He was a very mean and unkind man. He 
allowed his soldiers to go into the gardens of 
the American people and steal their nice fruits 
and vegetables. Sometimes, they stole their 
hens, sheep, cows, and hogs and carried them 
away to their camp, where they killed and ate 
them. 

General Prescott, himself, behaved worse 
than his soldiers. He told the Americans that 
they must take off their hats and bow to him, 
when he walked on the streets. If they refused 
to take off their hats, he commanded his serv- 
ant to knock them off. 



j6 BITS OF HISTORY. 

One evening Prescott was riding on horse- 
back through the streets. He saw a Quaker, 
.who did not take off his hat. Prescott was 
angry at him. He drove his liorse to him and 
pushed him over against a stone. The Quaker's 
hat was knocked off. Then Prescott shouted 
to him, "Now 3^ou will remember to take off 
your hat to me next time." 

Once Prescott had no walk to his front door. 
He was a selfish and stingy man. He wanted 
to save his money. So he thought of a plan to 
get a walk without any expense to himself. He 
called his servants. He told them to go to 
the houses of the Americans and take up their 
walks and put them in front of his house. All 
the Americans hated Prescott. They all wanted 
to capture him and to take him to General 
Washington to be punished. But the}^ were 
afraid to do it, because Prescott always kept 
guards to watch over him night and day. 

However, one American Avas found brave 
enough to try to capture Prescott, and he did cap- 
ture him. This man's name was Colonel Barton. 

One night in July Colonel Barton picked 
out several brave and strong men to go with 
him and to help him. Prescott was stopping at 
the house of a Quaker, named Overton. The 
Quaker's house was beyond Narragansett Bay. 
So Colonel Barton and his men got into boats 



BITS OF HISTORY. 57 

and rowed quietly over the bay. They must 
not make a noise, because many British ships 
were anchored in the bay. 

At about nine o'clock they arrived on the 
beach near the Quaker's house. Colonel Bar- 
ton divided his men into two companies. He 
led one company to the front door. The other 
company went to the back door. When they 
came near the gate, Prescott's sentinel cried 
out, "Who goes there? Show me your pass- 
port." Colonel Barton replied, "We have no 
passport. We are close friends of your master 
and have come to make him a visit." Then 
they suddenly seized the sentinel. His gun 
was taken from him, and he was threatened 
with death, if he made a noise. 

Then Colonel Barton and his company of 
men entered the front door. Mr. Overton, the 
Quaker, was alone reading a paper. All the 
rest of the family were in bed. Colonel Barton 
asked the Quaker where Prescott's room was. 
The good Quaker smiled and pointed upward. 
Then Colonel Barton with five strong men went 
up-stairs. The door of Prescott's room was 
locked. They had nothing to break it open 
with. One of Colonel Barton's men was a 
tough negro, named Sisson. He walked back a 
few steps. Then he ran and butted the door 
with his head, and burst it open. 



s^ 



BITS OF HISTOKV. 




BITS OF HISTORY. 5p 

Prescott heard the noise and jumped out of bed 
quickly. He thought that the men were rob- 
bers, and he ran to the wall to get his gold 
watch. Then Colonel Barton seized him b}^ the 
shoulder and said, "General Prescott, you are 
my prisoner." Then the men handcuffed him. 
General Prescott wanted to put on his clothes, 
but Colonel Barton refused to let him. They 
wrapped a cloak around him and hastened with 
him to their boats. When they arrived on the 
other side of the bay, they found Mr. Elliot 
Avaiting for them with a coach. The}^ put 
Prescott into it and rode away with him to 
Providence. 

The next morning they all stopped at a tavern 
to eat breakfast. A woman, named Mrs. Alden, 
waited on them. She gave each of them a dish 
of succotash. Succotash is made of corn and 
beans boiled together. All the Americans were 
fond of succotash, but General Prescott had 
never seen or eaten any. He looked at his dish, 
and his face turned red with anger. Then he 
snatched the dish of succotash from the table 
and threw it on the floor and said, "This stuff 
is fit only for hogs to eat." Mrs. Alden was 
shocked. She called her husband. He came 
into the room with a horse-whip, and gave 
Prescott a good flogging for his impudent 
conduct. 



6o BITS OF HISTORY 



In a few days, Colonel Barton and his men 
arrived with General Prescott at Washington's 
camp. General Prescott became a prisoner of 
war. 

Washington and all the Americans praised 
and honored Colonel Barton for his bravery 
in capturing General Prescott. The Congress 
of the United States presented him with a 
beautiful sword and, also, gave him a large 
farm in Vermont. 



MARY KNIGHT. 



DURING the fall of 1777, the Americans 
were ver}^ unfortunate. They were beaten 
b}^ the British in the battle of Brandywine. 
They lost the beautiful city of Philadelphia. 
Finally they w^ere defeated in the battle of 
Germantown. Winter was approaching. Soon 
the ground would be covered with deep snow. 
Washington felt discouraged. He did not know 
where to go with the Americans to spend the 
winter. He had a talk with his officers. At 
last they decided to go to Valley Forge, which 
is on the Schuylkill river about thirty-two miles 
above the city of Philadelphia. 

The poor soldiers had been fighting the 
British all the previous summer and fall. They 



BITS OF HISTORY. 6i 

were tired and lame, and many of them were 
sick. Now winter had set in, and they had no 
warm homes at Valley Forge. They were 
weary and wanted to rest, but they could not 
do so. They must now go to work and build 
huts to keep themselves from the cold winter 
winds. 

During that winter the Americans suffered 
terribly at Valley Forge. Many of them had 
no good clothes. They had to wear old ragged 
clothing. Many of them had no shoes and 
stockings. Their feet were bare, and often 
they left tracks of blood in the snow. Many of 
them had no warm blankets. They had to 
sleep on the frozen ground with nothing over 
their bodies but old rags. Many of them 
became sick and died before spring came. 

Their food was also very scarce. Often 
they had nothing to eat except roasted pota- 
toes. Many Tories lived near them, but they 
refused to sell their provisions to them, because 
the Americans were poor and could not pay a 
high price for them. So the Tories sold all their 
food to the British, who had plenty of money. 

But Mary Knight was a kind-hearted 
woman. She had a brother in the American 
Army at Valley Forge. She could not help 
pitying him and the other Americans there. 
She wanted to carr}^ some food to them, but 



62 BITS OF HISTORY. 

the British troops were stationed between her 
house and the Americans. She knew that they 
would catch her and imprison her, if they found 
out that she was taking food to the Americans. 
She was much troubled. Finall}^ she thouj^ht 
of the following plan : 

She dressed herself like a market-woman. 
Then she got a large basket and filled it with 
loaves of bread, meat, and other things. She 
took the basket on her arm and walked towards 
Valley Forge. The British troops saw her, but 
the}" thought that she was a market-woman, so 
the}' took no notice of her. They allowed her 
to ])ass their camp. Ever}" day she took a 
basket of nice food to her brother, and she 
saved the lives of many starving Americans. 
Some days the weather was very cold, and the 
ground was covered with deep snow, but she 
did not mind those things. She was always 
prompt with her basket of food for the poor 
soldiers. The Americans became much attached 
to her. They called her good Mary. 

Once Washington gave Mary Knight's 
brother permission to go home and spend a few 
days. He went home in the night and escaped 
being seen by the British sentinels. But by 
and by they heard that Mary's brother was 
visiting at home. One day Mar}^ saw several 
British officers, some distance away, coming 



BITS OF HISTORY. 63 

towards her house. She knew their errand. 
She called her brother and hastened with him 
into her cellar. There was an old cider hogs- 
head in her cellar, which happened at that time 
to be empty. She took an axe and knocked 
the head out of it. Then her brother got into 
the hogshead, and she put the head into it 
again and nailed it up tight. There was only 
a bung-hole left for him to get fresh air. 

Just as Mary had driven the last nail into 
the hogshead, she heard the officers knocking 
at the door. She was somewhat afraid to go 
and meet them, but she went bravely to the 
door and coolly asked them what they wanted. 
The}^ replied to her that they had come to cap- 
ture Mr. Knight, who was stopping at her house. 
Mar}^ told them that they were mistaken, for 
her brother was with Washington at Valley 
Forge. But the officers would not believe her. 
They rushed into her house and went into 
every room. Thej^ looked into all the closets, 
under all the beds, and behind all the doors, and 
into the attic, but they could not find him. 
Then they went down cellar and searched that. 
Thev even looked behind the old cider hoofs- 
head, but still they could not find him. At last 
they gave up the search and went awa}^ 

When they had gone out of sight, Mary 
went down cellar to the hogshead, and talked to 



64. BITS OF HISTORY. 

her brother through the buujj^-hole. She told 
him all about the British officers searchin<^ for 
him. He could not help laughinj^, even while 
he was in that dark place. However, he did 
not dare to come out, for he knew that the 
^)fficers w^ould come again soon. So he re- 
mained there and kept very quiet. When he 
was hungry, his sister took a long spoon and 
fed him through the bung-hole. 

As they expected, the British officers did 
come to the house again. The}^ again searched 
every nook and corner of the house from 
attic to cellar, but Mar3''s brother could not 
be found. The}" came to the house four 
times, and searched the house each time, but 
they found no hidden soldier there. Mary's 
brother stayed in the hogshead three days. 
Then he went back to the American camp at 
Valley Forge. There he related his adventure 
to the poor, sick soldiers, and many times did he 
cheer them up with the story. 



MRS. BUS TAN'S ESCAPE. 

MANY years ago, during the French and 
Indian War, a man lived near Haverhill, 
Mass. His name was Mr. Dustan. He was 
a farmer. He had a wife and seven 3"oung 
children. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 63 

One day he was at work in his field at some 
distance from his house. Pretty soon he heard 
a noise. He looked up and saw several Indians 
marching from the woods toward his house. 
He left his work and ran home as fast as he 
could. He called his children and told them to 
run quickly to a fort about a mile away. Mrs. 
Dustan was sick in bed. He wished to take 
her out of the house and save her life, but it 
was too late. The Indians were approaching 
the house. So he mounted his horse and 
galloped along the road to overtake his children. 

Some of the Indians saw him galloping 
away. They followed him and began to shoot 
their arrows at him. He was not hurt, but he 
was afraid that they would catch and kill his 
children. So he told them to keep on running 
towards the fort, while he followed them at a 
little distance behind. When the Indians came 
near him, he turned around and fired his gun 
at them. Thus he kept them away, till they 
all arrived safe at the fort. 

Meanwhile several other Indians entered 
Mr. Dustan's house. They had no pity for poor 
Mrs. Dustan. They drove her out of bed. 
Then they stole all her nice things and burned 
the house to the ground. 

Mrs. Dustan and her servant, named Mrs. 
Neff, and a boy, named Samuel Leonardson, 



66 BITS OF HISTORY. 

were all taken captive. The Indians drove 
them through the woods towards Canada. Mrs. 
Dustan was ver}^ weak, but she was patient and 
did not complain. By and by the}^ arrived at a 
])lace near Concord in New Hampshire. The 
distance was a hundred and tifty miles from 
Haverhill. 

One day, while they were there, Mrs. Dustan, 
Mrs. Neff, and the bo3^ Leonardson, talked 
privately with each other. The}' planned to 
murder all the Indians some night, while they 
were sleeping, and to escape to their homes. 
The Indians saw them talking with each other, 
but they did not suspect anything wrong. 

Sc'imuel Leonardson was a bright boy. Before 
going to sleep that night, he thought of a new 
])lan. He went to one of the Indians, and said, 
"When I grow to be a man, I intend to become 
a great soldier. I shall help Indians to scalp 
and kill white people. Please show me how 
to scalp them." The old Indian was dull and 
stupid. He did not think that the bo}^ Avas 
playing a trick on him. So he innocently took 
his knife from his belt and taught him how to 
do it. " Xow I understand; but where on the 
head do you strike, when you kill them?" asked 
the boy. The Indian smiled. He thought that 
Leonardson was a very bright and intelligent 
boy. Then he pointed to his temple, and said. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 67 

" I always strike them there. That never fails 
to kill them." Then, Leonardson said : " Thank 
you," and walked aw^ay. In a few minutes he 
met Mrs. Dustan and Mrs. Neff, and told them 
all about what the Indian had taught him. 

At about one o'clock the next morning Mrs. 
Dustan awoke. She raised her head a little 
and looked about in the wigwam. Ten stout 
Indian men, an Indian woman, and an Indian 
boy were lying on the ground near her. She 
could see by the light of the moon that they 
were all sound asleep. She turned her head 
and looked at Mrs. Neff and Leonardson. The}^ 
were both sleeping soundly. Then she gently 
poked Mrs. Neff w4th her elbow and awoke 
her. Next she awoke Samuel Leonardson. 

The three captives were now all awake. 
Leonardson rose and quietly crept to the place 
where the Indians were sleeping. He saw 
three tomahawks lying on the ground near 
them. He reached over his hand and took 
them. He gave one to Mrs. Dustan, one to 
Mrs. Neff, and kept one for himself. 

When all were ready, they walked to the 
Indians on tip-toe and struck them, one after 
another, on their temples and killed them, in 
the same way that the Indian had taught Leon- 
ardson how to do it. The Indian woman was 
the last person whom the}^ meant to kill. She 



68 BI TS OF HIS TOR } ' 



heard the noise, ran out of the wigwam, and 
escaped to the w^oods. They spared the little 
Indian boy, because he was too small and weak 
to do them an}'' harm. 

Mrs. Dustan, Mrs. Nefif, and Leonardson 
clapped their hands and shouted, ** Now we 
are free." 

When it became daylight, they started to go 
to their homes. They walked to the Merrimac 
river, where they found a boat and rowed it 
to their home. The}' told the jjeople about 
their wonderful adventure. At first the people 
disbelieved their story, but Leonardson showed 
them the ten Indian scali)S which he brought 
home with him. Then they knew that the 
story was true. They collected two hundred 
and fifty dollars. They divided the money 
equally between Mrs. Dustan, Mrs. Neft", and 
Leonardson, because they were so br^ive in escap- 
ing from the Indians. 

There is a monument now standing near 
Concord in memorv of this deed. 



STORY OF COLONEL WHITE. 

AT the time of the war between England 
and America, the British held a certain 
post in Georgia. This ]iost was in charge of 
Captain I'^rcnch. He had with him forty men. 



* BITS OF HISTORY. 6g 

besides five war vessels anchored in the har- 
bor. 

Colonel White was a brave and daring 
American. He was anxious to make prisoners 
of Captain French and his men and to get pos- 
session of the British post. But how could he 
do it? He had only four men with him, while 
Captain French had forty. He knew that he 
could not conquer so many men in open battle. 
So he conceived the following plan : 

He and his four men rode on horseback to a 
place quite near the post. There they kindled a 
number of fires. The air around was filled 
with clouds of smoke. Then Colonel White 
and his men galloped about from one place to 
another. They pretended that they were lead- 
ing a great American army to attack the British 
post. They waved their swords and shouted 
commands. 

Captain French heard Colonel White and 
his men shouting and saw them riding about in 
the thick smoke. He was completely deceived. 
He believed that a large army was coming to 
attack him. He was afraid to fight against so 
man}^ Americans. He knew that his forty men 
could not conquer them. So he surrendered all 
his men and vessels to Colonel White. 

But now Colonel White was in still greater 
trouble. How could he and his four men lead 



yo BI TS OF I J IS TOR 1 '. 

SO man}' prisoners to the American camp ? 
Captain French and his men mij^ht soon dis- 
cover the trick. Then the}' could easily kill or 
make prisoners of the live Americans. Colonel 
White's mind was much troubled. At first he 
did not know what to do. Finall}^ he invented 
another plan to deceive the British. 

He went up boldly to Captain French and 
said, "Sir, my soldiers are very angry against 
3'ou and 3^our men. A few days ago you 
burned many of their houses and destro3'ed 
much of their propert}'. Now the}^ are determ- 
ined to take revenge on 3'ou. I am afraid that 
they will kill every one of you, when the}' come 
up. Now I advise you to hasten along to the 
American camp before they arrive. My four 
officers will lead you along and show you the 
way. I will follow at some distance behind 
you. If my soldiers do come up, 1 will not 
allow them to attack or kill you." Ca])lain 
French and his men were again entirely hoaxed. 
They did not wish to be shot down by those 
angry Americans. So they took Colonel 
White's advice. They marched off towards the 
American camp as innocently as a Hock of 
sheep to the slaughter house. 

But Colonel White did not follow behind 
them. Instead, he galloped away and aroused 
all the soldiers in the neighborhood. They all 



BITS OF HISTORY. yi 

took their guns and followed him. Captain 
French saw them coming up behind him. He 
believed that it was the same army of men 
whom he imagined was behind those clouds of 
smoke. He and his men said not a word. They 
marched on and soon arrived at the American 
camp. There they became prisoners of war. 
Honor is due Colonel White for his stratagem. 



THE EVACUATION OF BROOKLYN. 

IN the summer of 1776 the British prepared to 
take New York from the Americans. Gen- 
eral Howe was the commander of the British. 
He had an army of thirty thousand well-trained 
soldiers and many war ships. There was a 
large number of German soldiers in his army. 
These Germans were hired by England to help 
fight against the Americans. They were called 
Hessians. General Howe had already arrived 
on Staten Island with this large army. 

General Washington was in New York with 
the Americans. He had only half as many 
soldiers as General Howe had, and he felt much 
troubled. He was somewhat afraid that the 
British would beat the Americans, but he did 
not want to lose New York. So he resolved to 
defend it as long as he could. Washington felt 



BITS OF HISrORY 



sure that General Howe would next land on 
Long Island, before attacking New York. So 
he sent a])out nine thousand Americans there 
to build forts to keep the British away. 

Washington's thoughts proved true. Gen- 
eral Howe did land on Long Island with a large 
arm3\ The Americans saw them coming and 
thev tried hard to drive them back to their ships. 
The}' fought the British bravel3\ They would 
have gained the victory, but while the}^ were 
lighting the British, they were surprised to see 
the Hessians coming up behind their backs. 
Those German soldiers had cunningl}' gone 
around the hills and arrived behind the Ameri- 
cans. The Americans knew nothing about it. 
They were caught in a trap. They fought 
hard for their lives, but the British pressed 
them in front, and the Hessians attacked them 
in the rear with their bayonets. Man}' of the 
Americans were killed and a great many were 
taken ])ris()ners by the English. Some of them 
rushed through the Hessian lines and escaped 
to Fort Putnam near the city of Brooklyn. 

Washington was in New York. He heard 
about the defeat of the Americans, and he was 
very sorry. He went quickly to Fort Putnam 
to try to save the rest of the Americans. 

The British and Hessians were delighted at 
their victorv. They next planned to capture 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



73 



Fort Putnam, and they came very near it. They 
could easily have taken it and have made 
Washington and all the Americans there pris- 
oners, but God did not allow them. General 
Howe thought that he would stop and wait for 
his ships to come and help him. The Hessians 
and many of the British soldiers were impa- 
tient. They wanted to attack the Americans 
immediately, but General Howe would not let 
them. 

While General Howe was waiting for his 
ships, a thick fog fell over the Island. General 
Howe's ships could not sail up the bay, because 
the sailors could not see in the fog, and the ships 
would strike each other and get broken. Once 
the fog began to clear away, and Washington 
could see the British ships across the Narrows. 
They were beginning to spread their sails. 
The British meant to sail the ships to Brooklyn 
to help General Howe. Just then the sky dark- 
ened, and the fog fell thickly again. This 
stopped the British ships and they took down 
their sails. 

That afternoon Washington and his officers 
decided to leave Brooklyn and to cross over to 
New York. They kept it a secret. They did 
not want the British to hear about it, because 
they would chase them and stop them. In the 
middle of the night the Americans left Fort 



74 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



Putnam and marched quietly to the wharves 
in Brooklyn. They got into boats and rowed 
over to New York, It took a long time to carry 
so many soldiers over the ba}-, but they worked 
on bravely. 

A woman lived near the wharves in Brook- 
lyn. She was a Tory, and she wanted the 
British to conquer the Americans. In the 
night she awoke and saw the Americans get- 
ting ready to cross over to New York. She 
called her negro servant and told him to run 
quickly and tell the British about it. The 
negro ol)e3'ed his mistress. He ran to the Brit- 
ish camp, but the Hessians caught him. The}^ 
thought that he was a sp}^ So they took him 
prisoner. The negro tried to tell the Hessians 
about the Americans, but they could not under- 
stand him. Their language was different from 
his. 

The Americans kept on crossing the bay in 
their boats. At 4 o'clock the next morning the 
last boat-load of soldiers had left Brooklyn. 
Washington was the last person to leave. He 
did not care for himself. He wanted to see all 
the Americans safe. Just as the last boat was 
crossing the ba3^ the British heard the news. 
The}^ hastened to the wharves to stop the 
Americans, l)ut it was too late. Washington 
and all the Americans were safe in New York. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 75 



THE BOY AND BRITISH GRENADIER. 



IN October, 1776, Washington and the British 
fought many battles near White Plains in 
New York. 

At that time a widow lived near White 
Plains. She had a garden near her house. 
Many fruits and vegetables were growing in it. 
One night, while she was sleeping, a British 
grenadier came to her garden with a large bag. 
He picked many apples, pears, grapes, and 
other nice things. He put them into his bag 
and carried them away to the British camp. 

The next morning the widow went into her 
garden. She missed many of her nice fruits 
and vegetables. She was very sorry. She saw 
some tracks on the ground. She knew that a 
thief had stolen her things. 

The widow had a son, named Tommy. He 
was about twelve years old, and he was a brave 
little boy. He said to hi^ mother, " I can 
catch the thief, if you will allow me to tr}^" 
His mother hesitated for a few minutes. She 
did not think that a little boy like Tommy 
could catch a thief, but at last she said, Well, 
Tommy, 3^ou may try." 



76 



BITS OF I [/STORY 



Tommy got his gun and loaded it. Then 
he went to the garden and hid behind some 
bushes. By and by the British grenadier came 
into the garden. He took his bag and tilled it 
with fruits and vegetables. Then he put it 
upon his shoulder and began to walk awa^^ 
Suddenl}^ Tommy jumped from his hiding 
place. He ran behind the grenadier's back 




and cocked his gun ready to fire. Then he 
shouted, "Carry that bag to General Wash- 
ington's camp. If you ])ut it down on the 
ground, I will shoot 3"ou." The grenadier could 
not see the boy plainly, because he cunningl}'' 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



77 



kept behind his bag. He thought that the boy 
was a big man. He did not want to be sliot. 
So he obeyed the boy's orders and carried the 
bag to Wasliington's camp. When he arrived 
there, he took it from his shoulder and put it 
upon the ground. Then he turned around and 
looked at little Tommy. His face turned red 
with anger. He felt very much mortified, 
because a big man like him had been taken 
prisoner by such a little boy as Tommy. 
General Washington and all the Americans had 
a good laugh at the grenadier. They praised 
little Tommy for bringing them such a big 
prisoner. 



THE CAPTURE OF 
JOHN WHLIAMS A T DEERFIELD. 

IN the year 1704, many French people and 
Indians went from Canada to Massachusetts. 
They gave the settlers there a great deal of 
trouble. One cold night in winter, they entered 
Deerfield. They set fire to the town, and killed 
many English settlers. They took many others 
prisoners and carried them away to Canada. 

Mr. John Williams was the minister of Deer- 
field. He had a wife and five children. On 
that night they were all in bed sleeping soundly. 



J 8 BITS OF HISTORY. 

Suddenly they were awakened by a loud noise 
and were much frij^htened. Mr. Williams 
jumped out of bed quickly, seized his j^un and 
went down stairs to see what was the matter. 
Wdien he got down there, he was much sur- 
prised to see several Indians breaking open his 
door and windows. He met one tall Indian in 
his kitchen. He aimed his gun at his head and 
meant to shoot him, but the gun missed lire. 
Then the Indian seized him and took him 
prisoner. 

The Indians took Mrs. Williams and all her 
children captive. Then the}^ made them 
march out into the deep snow. They traveled 
on through the woods towards Canada for two 
da3^s. Then Mrs. Williams became ver}^ weak 
and tired. She could walk no farther and fell 
down in the deep snow. The Indians were 
angr}^ at her. They told her to get uj), but she 
could not. Then the}^ struck her with their 
tomahawks and killed her in sight of her hus- 
band and five children. 

The Indians were also ver}^ cruel t<^ Mr. 
Williams. The}^ made him wallow in the deep 
snow twenty-five miles every (\cxy. They gave 
him only a little food and often he was almost 
starved. His feet and legs were sore and lame, 
but the Indians did not pity him. If he com- 
plained, they beat him with sticks, and some- 



BITS OF HISTORY. 79 

times they threatened to kill him, but he trusted 
in God. 

But the Indians were kind to Mr. Williams's 
children. When the}^ were tired, the Indians 
took them up in their arms and carried them 
along. They also gave the children food, when 
they were hungry. They continued to travel 
for eight weeks. At last they arrived at 
Montreal, in Canada. The governor of Canada 
pitied Mr. Williams. He took him and his 
children frotn the Indians and treated them 
kindly. Mr. Williams remained captive in 
Montreal for two years and a half. Then he 
was ransomed and allowed to return to Deer- 
field with two 'of his children. 

The name of Mr. Williams's youngest child 
was Eunice. She was a good and pretty girl. 
While she was living in Canada, an Indian 
family took her to live with them. They were 
kind to her, and she became their adopted 
daughter. She painted her face and wore 
Indian clothes. She was indeed just like an 
Indian girl, except that her face and hands 
were white. 

After many years she grew up and became 
a woman. Then she was married to an Indian 
chief and had several children. Once she and 
her children visited her friends in Deerfield. 
They all wore Indian clothes and looked 



8o BITS OF If IS TOR ) '. 

stranf^e. At first the people of Deerfield did 
not know who she was, but she told them that 
her name was Eunice. Then the ])eople 
crowded around her to see her and lo shake 
hands with her. They advised her to leave 
I he Indians and live with the white people, but 
!-he refused and said, "1 am contented and 
happy with my Indian husband." 



FRANKLIN AND THE OYSTERS. 

Along time ago Benjamin Franklin lived in 
Philadelphia. One cold da'y in winter he 
harnessed his horse to a sleigh and rode a 
few miles into the country. B}^ and b}^ his feet 
began to feel cold. He stamped them on the 
bottom of the sleigh to warm them, but it did 
no good. The pain increased, and he was afraid 
that the}^ would freeze. So he stopped his 
horse at a tavern and went inside to warm his 
feet. 

When he opened the door of the tavern, he 
saw several men sitting around the stove. The 
men saw Franklin and knew that he was cold, 
but they were impolite and selfish. They did 
not ofter him a chair, l)ut they all crowded 
around the stove, so that there was no phice for 



BITS OF HISTORY. 8i 

him to warm his feet. Franklin was surprised 
at this, but he was determined not to be beaten. 
He was a smart man, and he tliought of tlie 
following plan to make the men leave the 
stove : ' 

He rang the bell. In a minute the landlord 
entered the room. Then Franklin said, "Sir, 
will you please take my horse out of the sleigh 
and give him four quarts of oysters ? " The land- 
lord smiled at this, and so did the men who 
were crowded around the stove. They had 
never heard of such a strange horse, which 
would eat oysters. However, the landlord 
obeyed Franklin's order. He filled a four-quart 
measure with oysters in the shell and took them 
out to the stable. Then all the men left the 
stove and followed the landlord to the stable. 
They were anxious to see the horse eat oysters. 

But Franklin outwitted them. As soon as 
they left the room, he sat down near the stove 
and warmed his feet. In a few minutes the 
landlord and the men returned from the stable. 
When the men saw Franklin sitting beside the 
stove with his feet stretched across two chairs, 
they understood the joke. However, the land- 
lord said to him, "Sir, 3^our horse refuses to 
eat the 03^sters." "Never mind," said Franklin, 
"bring them to me, and I will eat them." 



S3 BI TS OF HIS TOR 1 '. 



THE DUTCHMAN AND THE RAKE. 



ONE da}^ during the war between England 
and America man}^ English ships sailed up 
the Hudson river. They stopped near Kings- 
ton, New York, and the troops went on shore. 

On that day several Dutchmen were making 
ha}^ in a field near the shore. They did not see 
the ships, and did not know that there were 
any British soldiers near them. \\'hile the}" 
were at their work, they began to talk with each 
other about the war. 

One of the Dutchmen was named Peter. 
He said that he was a friend of the Americans 
and that George the Third did wrong to tax 
them. He was very boastful and said that he 
was not afraid of the proud British soldiers. If 
they should come near him, he would not run 
an inch from them, but would stand and tight 
them till he was dead. The other Dutchmen 
doubted Peter's courage and laughed at him. 

Suddenly they heard the drums beating. 
They looked around and saw many British sol- 
diers coming towards them. The}' were much 
frightened. They left their work and ran 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



across the field as fast as they could. But Peter 
remembered his words, and he remained at a 
little distance behind. In a minute he saw that 
the British were approaching nearer and nearer 
to him. Then he became much frightened, and 
ran and followed the other Dutchmen. He did 
not dare to look behind him. He imagined 
that the British troops were following close at 
his heels. 

Suddenly he stepped on an old rake which 
was hidden in the grass. He did not see it. 
The handle flew up quickly and hit him on the 




S4 .BITS OJ' JIISTORY. 

back of his head. He did not kncnv what had 
hit him. l-ul he thought that a British soldier 
had struck him with his j^un. So he imme- 
diateh' got down on his knees and threw up his 
hands. Then he shouted, "Oh! I am ca])tured. 
I give up. King George is good, liunah. tor 
King George!" The other Dutchmen heard 
Peter shouting, and they looked around and 
saw him on his knees. The}' laughed hard at 
him. 

Just then Peter turned his head around. He 
expected to see a British soldier standing near 
him, but he was mistaken. They were all a 
mile away from him. It was that treachen^us 
rake handle th^it had ra])i)ed his back, lie tell 
much mortified, because he had surrendered to 
an old rake. Only a few minutes before, he 
was a staunch American, and had boasted that 
he would not run from the British. Now he 
had solemnly ])romised before that old rake 
that he would be a friend of King George. 

The other Dutchmen had a good laugh at 
Peter. After this they often i)lagued him 
about the old rake. He was alwa^'s ashamc(l to 
have them speak to him about it. This inci- 
dent helped to make him feel more humble. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 85 



THE CAPTURE OF GEN. SULLIVAN. 



WHEN the British heard that the Ameri- 
cans had hung Major Andre, they be- 
came very indignant. They resolved to pay 
the Americans back. 

At that time the British were encamped at 
Long Island. One of their officers was named 
John Hartwell. He was young and brave. He 
knew that General Sullivan was an American 
officer. He had heard that he was stationed 
with a small force of Americans on the Con- 
necticut shore. He resolved to go there, 
capture him, and bring him a prisoner to the 
British camp. It was a very dangerous task, 
but revenge was sweet to him. 

So one night he selected four strong and 
brave men from the British arm}^ They all 
got into a boat and rowed across the sound to 
the Connecticut shore. Then they left their 
boat and walked through the bushes to General 
Sullivan's house. The sentinels, who were 
stationed about the house, were careless. The}^ 
did not suspect any harm, and the}^ had wan- 
dered away from the house. The watch-dog 
heard Hartwell's men walking near the house. 



S6 BITS OF HISTORY. 

He barked a .little, but the}^ struek him and 
made him keep quiet. Then they opened one 
of the windows and went into the sitting-room. 
The}^ found a lamp. The}' scratched a match 
and lighted it. Then they searched about the 
house for General Sullivan's room. They soon 
found it and entered it very silently. They 
saw the general, his wife, and baby in bed 
sleeping soundly. But in a minute General 
Sullivan awoke. He jumped quickl}' out of 
bed and seized his sword. He meant to strike 
the British officers, but the}-^ wrenched the 
sword from his hand. Then they put a pair of 
hand-cuffs around his wrists. 

Mrs. Sullivan was a bold woman. At first 
she implored them to s])are her husband, but 
they refused to listen to her. Then she scolded 
them and called them cowards, because they 
had captured her husband while he was asleej), 
instead of doing it on the battle-tield. But 
Hartwell and his men were in a hurry. They 
led their ])risoner out of the house and hastened 
towards their boat. On the way they met one 
of the American sentinels, but they overpowered 
him and escaped to Iheir boat. Then ihey 
rowed across the sound and carried General 
Sullivan to the British camp. 

The next morning Mrs. Sulli\an called 
several American officers to her house. She 



BITS OF HISTORY. 87 

told them of the capture of her husband by the 
British. She thought that it would be a good 
plan for the Americans to capture a British ofiicer 
and keep him, until they were willing to give 
up her husband. They all liked the plan. So 
the next night several of them got into a whale 
boat and rowed to Long Island. Tlien they 
went to the house of a British man, named Judge 
Jones. They captured him and took him to 
Mrs. Sullivan. She was glad to see him and 
kept him in her house. She was kind to him 
and took good care of him. 

Now it also happened that Mrs. Jones re- 
ceived General Sullivan into her house. She 
in the same way was kind to him, and did 
everything to make him feel comfortable. But 
after some time Mrs. Sullivan wrote a letter to 
the British officers. She told them that she was 
willing to give them back Judge Jones, if they 
would return her husband. They agreed to do 
so. So on the same day the two husbands were 
exchanged, and both wives made happy again. 



IlfR. LITTLE AND THE LIVE INDIANS. 

MR. LITTLE lived in a log house near Saco, 
Maine. He was a wood-cutter, and had a 
wife and several young children. He was an 
industrious man. 



88 BITS OF HISTORY. 

One mornin;^ duriiv,^ the French and Indian 
War, Airs. Little prepared a basket of food lor 
her husband. Mr. Little took the basket and 
put it on his arm. Then he took his axe on his 
shoulder and went to the woods to cut lire-wood. 

When he arrived at the woods, he hunj^ his 
basket on a tree and took off his coat and hun^ 
it up beside the basket. Then he took his axe 
and be^an to chop down a lar^i^e tree. By and 
b}' it fell to the ground, and he chopped it into 
sticks four feet long. 

Pretty soon he drove an iron wedge into 
one of the logs to s])lit it. He was bus}^ at 
work, when suddenl}^ he heard a loud noise. 
He looked around and saw live large and strong 
Indians coming towards him. He was some- 
what frightened, because he knew that the 
Indians meant either to scalp him alive, or to 
carrv him captive to Canada and sell him to 
the French. At first he thought that he would 
run and try to escape, but he saw that the 
Indians carried guns. He knew that they 
would shoot him, if he should run. So he kept 
cool and s])lit the log. 

The Indians meant to capture him and to 
sell him to the French in Canada, but they 
wished to tease him a little first. Indians 
always like to tease their captives, the same as 
a cat teases a mouse before she kills it. So one 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



of the Indians approached Mr. Little and said 
to him, " You are a weak man. I can easily 
split that log with nothing, except my hands." 
Mr. Little smiled and said, " You may try." 
Then the Indian put his fingers into the crack. 
He tried to pull the log apart, but he could not 
do so. Then he called the other Indians to 
come to help him, and they did so. Then they 
all put their fingers into the crack and tried to 
split the log. 

Suddenly Mr. Little struck the wedge with 
his large mallet and knocked it out of the 
crack. Then the crack quickly sprang together. 
The five Indians were all caught. They 



MM 




go BITS OF HISTORY. 

screamed and tried to \)\\\\ their hands out, but 
they could not do so. 

Then Mr. Little took his axe and killed 
them all. This was a remarkable escape for 
Mr. Little. 



THE PATRIOTISM OF MRS. BORDEN. 

MANY years ago a man lived in New 
Jersey. His name was Mr. Borden. He 
had a wife and two sons. He was a wealthy 
man and owned a large and handsome house. 
It was painted white and had green blinds. It 
was situated on a hill and was surrounded by 
many beautiful trees. He also owned several 
large barns and kept many horses and cows. 

When the Revolutionary War began, Mr. 
Borden and his eldest son left home and became 
soldiers in A\'ashington's army. The}' were 
both brave men and fought against the British 
in many battles. Mrs. Borden and her young- 
est son remained at home. They managed the 
farm and took care of the horses and cows. 

After some time the British drove the Ameri- 
cans out of New Jersey and took possession of 
the whole country. Then Lord Cornwallis 
went there with many British troops and 
formed a camp at some distance from Mr. 



BITS OF HISTORY. qi 

Borden's place. While he was stopping there, 
Cornwallis heard about Mr. Borden and his son 
being soldiers in Washington's arm}^ So one 
day he went to the house with several of his 
officers and knocked on the door. Mrs. Borden 
heard him knocking and opened the door. 
Cornwallis bowed politely to her and said, 
" Please tell me, madam, where your husband 
and son are." 

Mrs. Borden was a bold woman. She did 
not wish to tell a lie or to keep anything secret 
from the British. So she told him frankly that 
thev were with General Washington fightingr 
for the freedom of their country. Then Corn- 
wallis began to reprove her. He told her that 
Washington was a rebel and that it was wrong 
for her husband and son to help them. He 
also told her that George the Third was a good 
king and that the Americans ought to obey 
him. Then he tried to persuade her to make 
her husband and son desert the American army 
and join the British. He told her that if she 
would do so, he would spare her house, barns, 
and all her property. But if she refused, he 
would burn and destroy ever3^thing on her 
place. 

Then Mrs. Borden boldly said, "You may 
burn my house and barns. You ma}^ kill all 
my horses and cows. In short you may destroy 



g2 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



everything I have. I would much rather have 
all my property destro3'ed than to see m}^ hus- 
band and son fighting in the British army 
against their country." 

Lord Cornwallis became ver}^ angry at this. 
He and his officers at once set fire to tbe house 
and barns and destr03^ed all the propert}^ 



THE ESCAPE OE CAPTAIN PLUNKETT. 

CAPTAIN PLUNKETT was a young Irish- 
man, and he was handsome and honest. 
He fought with the Americans in man}^ battles 
and helped them to conquer the British. He 
was a good soldier and had many friends. 

In the battle of Brand3^wine, the Americans 
lost man)^ of their best soldiers. In that battle 
Captain Plunkett fought bravely against the 
British, but the}^ captured him and took him to 
Philadelphia. There they shut him up in 
prison. While he w^as there, he sufi"ered a great 
deal. The British treated him very cruelly. 
The}^ gave him only a little food to eat and he 
had to sleep on the hard floor. All of his 
friends pitied him. They wanted to help him, 
but they were afraid of the British guards. 

But Captain Plunkett had one true friend in 
Philadelphia. Her name was Marv. She was 



BITS OF HISTORY. gj 

a Quakeress, and was a handsome young girl. 
She pitied poor Captain Plunkett, and resolved 
to help him. She got a suit of clothes and a 
hat. They were just like the clothes worn by 
the British prison guards. She made a bundle 
of them. Then she put the bundle under her 
long cloak and went to the prison. She told 
the guards that she wanted to visit the pris- 
oners for a few minutes. They allowed her to 
go inside of the prison. There she met Captain 
Plunkett. She gave him the bundle and he hid 
it behind some old barrels, which were in a 
corner of the prison. Then she bade him good- 
bye and hastened to her home. 

A short time afterwards Captain Plunkett 
opened the bundle. He slyly put on the British 
suit and hat. Then he took a cane in his hand 
and calmly walked out of the prison door. The 
guards saw him, but they thought that he was 
one of the British guards, They took but little 
notice of him and allowed him to pass on. Then 
he went immediately to Mary's home. She led 
him up-stairs and hid him in the attic. She 
did not wish her parents or her brothers and 
sisters to know about it, because they were all 
Tories, and they would send him back to prison, 
if they should find out that he was hiding in 
their house. So Mar}^ kept it all secret. When 
she ate her dinner, her supper, or her break- 



9-}- 



lUTS OF HISTORY. 



fast, she slyly put some food under her ai)ron. 
Then she t(^ok it up to the attic and fed her 
good friend. 

But by and b}^ Captain Plunkett grew tired 
of staying in the attic so long. He wished to 
get out of the house and escape to the Ameri- 
can camp, but he was dressed in a British suit. 
The British sentinels would suspect that he 
was going to leave their army and join the 
Americans. Or, if the Americans should see 
him, they would think that he was a British 
soldier and perhaps would shoot him. He was 
in much trouble. He talked secretly with Mary. 
She advised him to dress like a woman. So 
she got her father's razor for him, and he shaved 
off his whiskers. Then she got her mother's 
old calico dress, shawl, and bonnet. She took 
them up to the attic, and he put them on. He 
looked like an old Irish woman, and Mary could 
not help laughing at him. 

When ever3'thing was ready, Mary led him 
down the back stairs out of the house. After 
they had walked some distance, they met the 
British sentinels. Mary told them that the old 
woman beside her wished to go into the country 
to do some washing for a friend. The sentinels 
suspected nothing wrong. The}^ said, "All 
right, go forward." 



BITS OF HISTORY. ^j 

Mary went several miles into the country 
with Captain Plunkett. When the}^ were far 
beyond the British lines, she bade him good- 
bye and prayed that God would take care of 
him. Then she hastened back to her home in 
Philadelphia. Captain Plunkett continued to 
travel on, until he arrived at the house of his 
friend, named Colonel McLean. There he was 
safe. He changed his clothes and was as true 
an American after this as he ever was. 



THE TREASON OF RUGSDALE. 

AT one time in the year 1782 George Wash- 
ington was stopping at West Point, on the 
Hudson river, in New York. At the same time 
a man, named Rugsdale, lived on the opposite 
side of the river. He was a Tory at heart, but he 
pretended to be a friend of Washington and 
the Americans. He was like a wolf dressed 
in sheep's clothes. 

One day Rugsdale invited Washington with 
several of his officers to a party to be held that 
evening at his house. Washington at first hesi- 
tated. He did not like to go, but he believed 
Rugsdale to be a true friend. So he accepted 
the invitation. 

Accordingly, at about seven o'clock that 
evening Washington with several of his offi- 



g6 BI TS OF HIS TOR 1 '. 

cers crossed the Hudson river in a boat. He 
left several men on the shore to watch the boat. 
He told them that he would return by ten 
o'clock. Then with a few of his officers he started 
to walk towards Rugsdale's house. While they 
were walkin^^ along a path through the woods, 
a young Indian girl sprang suddenly out of the 
bushes in front of Washington. The General 
was a little startled. He put his hand to his 
sword, but the girl kneeled on the ground 
beside him. She put her finger to her lips as a 
sign for silence. Then she stood up and took a 
knife from her belt. She moved it around her 
head and signed like scalping a person. Then 
she pointed toward Rugsdc'de's house and sud- 
denly discippeared into the woods. 

Washington was astonished and wondered 
what the Indian girl meant. He thought that 
perhaps something wrong was going to happen 
to him. He almost turned around to go back 
to West Point, but he believed that God would 
take care of him. So he walked on again, and 
they soon arrived at Rugsdale's house. Man}' 
people were assembled there. Washington and 
his officers conversed and danced with them 
and passed a very pleasant evening. 

But Rugsdale did not seem to enjoy himself. 
His face was pale, and he was ver}' restless. 
He often went to the window and looked 



BITS OF HISTORY. gy 

towards the river. He was waiting fgr some 
British officers to come and capture Washing- 
ton. He could not understand wliy the}^ were 
so late. He did not know that several Ameri- 
can officers were on the shore watching Wash- 
ington's boat. 

The young Indian girl had tried to stop 
Washington froin going to Rugsdale's house. 
Several days before she had heard Rugsdale 
and his friends talking together and planning 
to capture him. She loved Washington, and 
she wanted to save him. So she made signs to 
him. She thought that he would understand 
her and would give up going to the party, but 
she was mistaken. She was very sorry that he 
had gone there, but she persevered. She w^as 
determined to save him. So she ran to the 
shore. She met the men in charge of Washing- 
ton's boat. She told them the whole stor}^ She 
told them that many British officers were com- 
ing up the river that night to capture Washing- 
ton. She told them to be ready to meet them. 

Washington's men did get everything read}^ 
They loaded their guns and watched carefull}^ 
At about nine o'clock they saw a boat loaded 
with British officers coming up the river. In a 
few minutes the boat arrived on the shore near 
them. The Americans hid among the bushes. 
Suddenly they sprang forward, seized the 



gs r>i Ts or Ills tor i '. 

British^officers, overpowered them and carried 
them prisoners to West Point. 

The American otlticers were now very happy. 
They thought that they would ])lay a joke on 
Rugsdale. So they stripped off the clothes 
from their British prisoners and dressed them- 
selves in them. Then the}" crossed the river 
and went to Rugsdale's house. Rugsdale saw 
them coming. He was deceived. He thought 
that the}" were really British officers. As they 
came into the house, Rugsdale put his hand on 
Washington's shoulder and said, " You are my 
prisoner." Just then the American officers 
took off their British coats. Rugsdale saw that 
the}" were Americans. He was confused and 
trembled. Then W^ashington stepped forward. 
He drew forth his sword, seized Rugsdale by 
the collar and said, " You are my prisoner now. 
You are a traitor. I shall hang you." 

Mrs. Rugsdale and her children fell on their 
knees and begged Washington to spare their 
husband and father, but W' ashington was tirm. 
In ten minutes Rugsdale was executed. 



BITS OF HISTORY. pp 



THE 
BOY-SOLDIERS OF CHERRY VALLEY. 



ABOUT a hundred years ago maii}^ Ameri- 
can people lived in Cherry Valle3^ N. Y. 
This village was surrounded by high hills, 
which were covered with pretty evergreen trees. 
Beyond it there was a green meadow, where 
many cows grazed. A stream of pure water 
flowed through this meadow, where the bo3^s of 
the village often went to catch fish. It was 
indeed a loveh^ place. The people there were 
contented and happy, but they were sometimes 
troubled by Indians. 

A tribe of Indians, called the Mohawks, lived 
north of that place. They were then numerous 
and strong. A man named Brant was their 
chief. He was wise, brave, and crafty. He 
was well-educated and could speak the English 
language well. During the Revolutionary 
War the British persuaded Brant and the 
Mohawks to murder the Americans and to burn 
and plunder their homes everywhere. This 
was very mean and cruel, and it made the 
Americams hate the British all the more. 



100 



BITS OF 1 1 IS TOR)'. 




W^.t 



3 



II 













■3 -i 



V'yy 



,.H>. 









BITS OF HISTORY. loi 

One day a messenger came riding on liorse- 
back to Cherry Valley. He told the people that 
Brant and his Indians were coming to murder 
them and to destroy their village. This news 
alarmed the people very much. They met 
together and decided to change Colonel Camp- 
bell's house into a fort. This house was the 
largest in the village, and it was situated on a 
high hill. So the men threw up a high bank 
of earth around it. They also doubled the 
doors and put up thick shutters over the win- 
dows, so that the Indian's bullets could not enter 
the fort. 

When all was ready, the men, women, and 
children of the village went into the fort to 
protect themselves from the Indians. While 
they were waiting for the Indians to come, the 
children played together and had some fine 
fun. The boys made wooden guns and swords. 
They painted the guns black, so that they 
resembled real guns. They chose a captain, a 
flag-bearer, and several drummers. Every 
morning they marched about on the green near 
the fort playing soldiers and feeling very patri- 
otic and happy. 

One morning the boys were drilling on the 
green with their wooden guns as usual. Pretty 
soon Brant and his Indians approached the 
village to burn it and to murder the people. 



102 BITS OF HIS 7 OR Y. 

They stopped on a hill at a little distance away. 
Then Brant and a Tory crept softly through 
the woods towards the village. They peeped 
through the trees to see if the village was pro- 
tected. The}^ were surprised to see Colonel 
Campbell's house changed to a fort. Pretty 
soon they heard drums beating. They looked 
towards the green and saw the bo3'S marching 
about. They were deceived. They thought 
that the bo3"S were true soldiers with real guns. 
Brant was angr}^ and disai)i)()inted. He was a 
brave Indian, but he felt that his men could 
not conriuer what seemed to him a large 
compan}' of soldiers. So he went to his Indians 
and ordered them to march back to their homes. 
The boys in their play did not know that they 
saved the whole village and the lives of the 
people from the Indians, but they reall}^ 
did do it. 



FRANCES SLOCUM 

JONATHAN SLOCUM was a Quaker. He 
J li\e(l in the \^alley of Wyoming, Pa., and 
had a wife and nine children. He w^as a 
farmer and owned "many cattle. He was a 
good man and treated the Indians kindly. 
They in turn remembered and loxcd him. 



BITS OF HISTORY. loj 

In the year 1778 many hundreds of Indians 
invaded the Valley of Wyoming. At that time 
all the young and strong men were away from 
home. They were soldiers in Washington's 
arm}^ The Indians knew this. They knew 
that the old men, women, and children were 
weak and could not fight them much. So they 
invaded the valley. They burned the people's 
houses everywhere, and murdered hundreds of 
helpless old men, women, and children. 

But the Indians remembered good Jonathan 
Slocum. They burned all the houses in the 
neighborhood, but his house and all his family 
were spared. However, the Indians soon heard 
that two of Mr. Slocum 's oldest sons were sol- 
diers in Washington's army. They also heard 
that he had allowed several of his neighbors to 
hide in his house to escape from being killed 
during the invasion. This made the Indians 
angry. They became revengeful. 

One day Mr. Slocum left his home and went 
to his field to take care of his cattle. Pretty 
soon several Indians stole out of the woods. 
They sprang upon him and murdered him. 
Then one of the same Indians went to Mr. Slo- 
cum's house. Two of his boys were in the yard 
near the house. One of them was turning a 
grindstone. The other boy was sharpening a 
knife on the stone. Suddenly Mrs. Slocum. 



104 ^^^^ OF HISTORY. 

heard a scream. She rushed to the door and 
saw an Indian scalping one of the boys with 
the same knife which he was sharpening. The 
other boy ran screaming into the house, but the 
Indian followed him. He seized another little 
boy and was going to scalp him also. Just then 
Mrs. Slocum cried out, "Shame on 3'ou ! That 
little boy is lame. He can do you no harm." 
Then the Indian dropped the boy and seized a 
little girl, named Frances. She was onl}^ five 
years old. He took her gently in his arms and 
ran awciy with her to the mountains. 

The lirst night Frances slept in a cave with 
the Indian. She did not like the cave. She 
w£is homesick and frightened. She cried hard 
and wanted to be taken back to her mother. 
But the Indian was kind to her, and fed her and 
took good care of her. The next morning he 
took her in his arms and carried her far away 
to the Indian country. The Indian sold Fran- 
ces to a good Indian family, and she became 
their adopted daughter. She wore Indian 
clothes and pla3"ed with the Indian children. 
She learned to shoot with the bow and arrow. 
The Indians were kind to her. She grew u^) to 
\)e a young woman. She loved the Indians, £ind 
learned to speak their language. She was 
homesick no more. She did not want to be 
taken ])ack to her mother. Slie was hai)p_v. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 105 

She liked the Indians best. Tliey treated lier 
like a queen. They called her Ma-con-a-qua, 
which means Great Bear. 

By and by Frances's Indian parents died. 
Then she married a young and handsome chief 
of the Delaware Indians. They lived in Ohio, 
and were contented and happy. After some 
time her husband died. Then she married 
another Indian chief, who belonged to the 
Miami tribe. They moved to Indiana. There 
Frances became the mother of several children. 
These children grew up and married other 
Indians. Then Francis had many grandchil- 
dren. Again her husband died, and she became 
a widow a second time. 

Mrs. Slocum never forgot about Frances, 
her lost child. She felt sure that she was not 
dead, but w^as living with the Indians some- 
where in the woods. When the war was 
finished, her two sons came home. Then she 
told them about Frances. She wished them to 
go and search over the whole country to find 
their lost sister. They did so. They searched 
over the whole wilderness to Niagara Falls. 
Then they went to Canada. They told every- 
body about Frances. They offered a large sum 
of money, if anybody would find her. But no- 
body knew where she was. The two brothers 
became discouraged and gave up the search. 



io6 BI TS OF HIS TOR J '. 

They returned to their home in \\'yominj^. 
They told their mother that they believed that 
Franees was dead, and that they would ne\er 
see her a^ain. 

Mrs. Slocum was now an old woman. Her 
face was wrinkled, and her hands trembled. 
Still, she did not feel discouraged. She strongly 
believed that Frances was living somewhere. 
One da}^ she called her sons and daughters to 
her bed-side. She told them that she was old 
and would soon die. She told them all not to 
forget their lost sister, Frances. She told them 
that they could recognize her, because she had 
no nail on the little finger of her left hand. 

After many years Frances also began to 
grow old. She still remembered a little about 
her white relatives. She was anxious about 
her father, mother, brothers, and sisters. She 
wished to know if they Avere still living. She 
wanted to see them before she died. One day 
she met Colonel Ewing, who was the Indian 
agent at Logansport in Indiana. She told him 
the whole secret of her history. vShe told him 
that her father's name was Slocum and that he 
was a Quaker. She could not remember the 
name of the town in which lie lived, but his 
house was near a fort on the banks of the 
Sus(iuehanna river. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 107 

Mr. Ewing wrote a notice about Frances. 
He sent it in a letter to the editor of a paper, 
named the Lancaster Intelligence. But the 
editor was careless, and did not read the notice. 
He threw it into the waste-basket with many 
other papers. About a 5^ear and a half after- 
ward the editor's wife found the notice. She 
read it and gave it to the printers. Then it was 
published in the 'Lancaster Lntelligeitce. One 
of the papers was sent to a man living in 
Wyoming. He read the notice about Frances. 
He showed it to Joseph Slocum, who was her 
brother and was now an old man. Joseph read 
the notice and knew that the woman must be 
his lost sister. He immediately went to 
Logansport. There he met Mr. Ewing and 
told him that he wanted to see Frances. 
Frances lived about twelve miles from Logans- 
port. So Mr. Ewing sent for her to come to 
his house. 

The next da}^ Frances entered the town, 
riding on a young horse with her two daughters 
behind her. She and her daughters were 
dressed in handsome Indian clothes. Mr. 
Ewing introduced Frances to her brother, 
Joseph ; but they did not know each other. 
She spoke to him in the Indian language. He 
spoke to her in the English language. They 
could not understand each other. Th^n they 



loS BITS OJ-JIISTORY. 

called an interpreter. They could not recog- 
nize each other. By and by Joseph looked at 
the little tinjj^er of her left hand. He saw- 
that the nail was gone. "Now. 1 know 
you," he exclaimed, " You are my sister 
Frances." They hugged and kissed each other. 
They had not seen each other for fifty-nine 
years ; when they w^ere little children. 

Frances was very glad to' see her brother 
again. She asked him many questions about 
her father, mother, other brothers and sisters. 
When he told her that her father and mother 
were dead, l)ig tears rolled down her cheeks. 
Joseph tried to persuade her to go back and live 
with the white people in Wyoming, but she re- 
fused to go with him. She preferred to spend 
the rest of her life with her Indian relatives. 

Some years afterwards Joseph and his 
brother and another sister went to visit Frances. 
They found her living in a nice log house. 
She was quite rich, and owned several herds of 
cattle and sixty-five horses. All the other 
Indians had been driven farther west, but 
Frances and her Indian relatives were allowed 
by Congress to remain at their old home. Con- 
gress gave her a large tract of land. Some 
years ago she died, but her Indian relatives are 
still living near Logansport. 



BITS OF HISTORY. jog 



FRIGHTENED BY BEANS. 



ONCE during the war of the Revolution 
General Putnam and his soldiers were 
encamped in the state of New York and were 
waiting there for orders from General Wash- 
ington to go to battle. 

At some distance away the British had their 
camp pitched. One day, while they were there, 
ten of the British officers came to Putnam's 
camp to pay him a short visit. They had heard 
a great deal about his braver3^ and they were 
anxious to see him and to have a little talk 
with him. They carried a flag of truce with 
them to show the Americans that they had 
come as friends and not to fight. 

Putnam received them very courteously, and 
they talked together for some time. By and 
by the British officers became ver}^ boisterous. 
They called the Americans cowards and said 
that the British officers were much braver than 
the American officers. 

This made General Putnam feel very indig- 
nant, and he offered to give them ten pounds of 



J JO HI TS OF HIS TOR i '. 



tobacco, if he failed to prove that he was as 
brave as they were. They looked at each other, 
smiled, and said that the}^ would accept the 
offer. Then Putnam said to them, "Can you 
sit on a keg of powder and allow it to explode 
under 3^ou?" They all replied, "Yes, we can 
do anything that you dare to do." Then he 
told them to come to his camp the next da}^ 
when he would have the kegs of powder ready. 
The}^ all promised to do so. Then they went 
back to their camp. 

While they were awa3^ Putnam ordered his 
servant to bring eleven kegs of powder from 
the magazine to his camp. Now it happened 
that the servant had overheard the words of 
Putnam and the British officers, and he knew 
what was going to happen. He was ver^^ fond 
of his master, and he did not w^ant him to be 
blown up and killed. So he disobeyed the 
order. 

He got eleven empty powder kegs and filled 
them with beans. He also got one keg filled 
with genuine powder. So there were twelve 
kegs altogether. He took them to Putnam's 
camp and arranged them in a row. He bored 
a small hole in the bottom of each keg. Then 
he fastened a long fuse to each hole and l)Ound 
their ends together, so that the}^ would all burn 
at the same time. 



BITS OF HISTORY. m 

According to their promise the British 
officers returned the next day. Tliey all felt 
certain that they would beat Putnam and would 
win the ten pounds of tobacco. Putnam's 
servant showed them the kegs. Then he took 
the stopper out of the one which was filled with 
real powder. Each of the British officers took 
a pinch of the powder from the hole to see if 
it was genuine. Putnam did the same. There 
was no mistake about it. That keg was full of 
real powder. They, as well as Putnam, all 
believed that all the other kegs were full of 
powder too. 

In a minute Putnam took the British officers 
aside and showed them the ten pounds of 
tobacco and said, " Now, if I am blown up and 
any of 3'Ou escape, you will know where to find 
it." While he w^as doing this, his servant slyly 
cut the fuse from the keg of real powder and 
hid the keg behind some bushes. 

Pretty soon Putnam ordered each of the 
British officers to take a seat on one of the kegs. 
The}^ did so, and he sat on the keg at the head 
of the row. Then he ordered his servant to 
light the fuse. When the fuse began to burn, 
the British officers shook and trembled all over. 
Suddenly the}" all jumped to their feet, put 
their fingers in their ears and ran away feeling 
much frightened, but Putnam remained seated 



112 BITS OF HISrORY. 

tirmh' on his keg. His arms were folded, and 
he was as still as a statue. 

Of eourse the beans did not explode, but 
they had scared the British otficers terribly, 
When they saw the beans, the}^ felt very much 
mortitied, but Putnam enjoyed the joke and his 
sides shook with laughter. 



RALEIGH AND II IS PIPE. 

SIR WALTER RALEIGH was a young and 
handsome Englishman, lie was a warm 
friend of Oueen Elizabeth. \\\ the Axar 1579 
she appointed him to carr}^ many English 
settlers to America. She wished him to make 
a settlement on Roanoke Island, which is near 
North Carolina. Raleigh was glad to help the 
Queen. He sent settlers to Roanoke live times, 
but the}^ failed to make a settlement and went 
back to England. 

Raleigh's settlers met many Indians on 
Roanoke Island. The Indians raised much 
tol)acco, and the}^ w^ere ver}^ fond of smoking it. 
The English people never saw tobacco l)efore. 
Thev were astonished to see the Indians smok- 
ing their ])ipes. The Indians told the English 
people that tobacco was good, and they taught 
the English how to smoke it. The English 



BITS OF HISTORY. nj 

liked it. They traded with the Indians and 
obtained much tobacco. They carried it to 
Europe and sold it to the people. B}^ and by a 
great many people learned to smoke and 
chew it. 

Raleigh was very fond of tobacco. One day 
Queen Elizabeth came into his room and found 
him smoking. He conversed with her, and 
told her many stories about tobacco. Finally 
he told her that he could tell the exact weight 
of the smoke of a certain piece of tobacco. The 
queen doubted his story. She offered him a 
large sum of money, if he could prove it. He 
accepted the offer. He first weighed a piece of 
tobacco. Then he cut it into small pieces with 
his knife and put it all into his pipe, and 
smoked the pipe for a long time. Then he 
took the ashes out of the pipe and weighed 
them. He subtracted the weight of the ashes 
from the weight of the tobacco. The difference 
was the weight of the smoke. The queen was 
surprised at this. She thought that he was 
very smart. She kept her promise and gave 
him the sum of money. 

At another time Raleigh's servant entered 
his room just as a whiff of smoke was coming 
out of his mouth. The servant was frightened. 
He had never seen anyone smoke a pipe before. 
He thought that the inside of his master was 



11^ BITS OF HISTORY. 



buniin;^-. He shouted, "Fire! Fire!" Then he 
quickly snatched a pail of water and poured it 
upon his master's head. Ralei<^h was angr}^ at 
this. He (quickly jumped to his feet and asked 
the servant why he did it. The servant replied, 
" Oh ! I thou<^ht that you were burning all n\), 
and I wanted to put the tire out." Raleigh 
laughed hard at this. He forgave the servant. 



ESCAPE OF TJJ^O BOYS EROM INDIANS. 

DURING the French and Indian War two 
l)03's lived in Haverhill, Massachusetts. 
Their names were Isaac Bradley and Joseph 
Whittaker. Isaac was lifteen years old, and 
Jose])h was eleven. Isaac was a small bo}', but 
he was brave and bright. Joseph was four 
3'ears younger, but he was as large as Isaac. He 
was neither strong nor brave. 

One day Isaac and Joseph w^ere at a work in 
a field. Suddenh" several Indians sprang out 
of the woods and seized the l)oys. The Indians 
did not hurt them. They ])ut them u|)on their 
shoulders and carried them aw^ay into the 
woods. They traveled on through the woods 
for several days. By and by the}^ arrived at 
Lake Winnipiseogee, in New Hampshire. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 115 

There the}^ built a camp and intended to re- 
main there for a few days. 

Isaac Bradley was a smart boy. He often 
listened to the Indians, while they were talking 
together. He soon learned to understand a 
little of their language. One day he heard 
them say, "We shall go to Canada soon." 
Isaac knew what that meant. He knew that 
the Indians were going to take him and Joseph 
to Canada. There they would sell them to the 
French. Isaac did not want to be taken to 
Canada. He wanted to be free. He knew that 
there must be some English settlements near. 
So he resolved to run away from the Indians. 
But how could he find the way to his home ? 
He had no compass. He thought and thought. 
At last he resolved to follow the sun b}" day 
and the stars by night. He knew that he might 
perish on the wa}^ but he would rather die 
alone in the woods than to be made a slave by 
the French, In a few minutes he met Joseph 
and told him his plan. He said to him, " Let us 
run away to-night." Joseph said, " I would like 
to, and you must remember to wake me up." 

That day the Indians went hunting. They 
shot and killed a large moose. They brought 
it to the camp, and cut it into many pieces. 
Isaac stole a large piece of the meat, and hid it 
in the bushes. The Indians did not see him do 



ii6 BITS OF HISTORY. 

it. Then he went into the camp and stole 
many ])ieces of bread, He filled his i)()ekets 
with them. 

When nifrht came the Indians all went to 
sleep. But Isaac could not slec]). He kept 
thinkiu'jj and thinkin<^ about his plan to escape. 
By and by he raised his head up a little and 
looked about the camp. He saw that the 
Indians were all fast asleep. He softl}' touched 
Joseph. l)ut Joseph did not move. He shook 
him a little harder. Then Joseph awoke. He 
was a little careless. He spoke aloud and 
asked, "What do 3^011 want?" Isaac ])ut his 
finger to his lips as a sign for silence. He was 
afraid that the Indians had heard Joseph speak- 
ing. So he quickl}^ fell down by Joseph's side and 
pretended to be sleeping soundly. But . the 
Indians did not move. They had been hunting 
all the day before and the\^ were very tired and 
sleepy. The boys an^se softh\ Isaac took the 
gun of one of the Indians, and some powder and 
shot. Then they both walked on tip-toe out of 
the cam]). They remembered their stolen moose 
meat. They went to it, took it up in their arms 
and carried it away into the woods. The trees 
were thick and tall. There were no roads. 
They climbed over logs, stones, and bushes, and 
Welded across brooks and streams. l^hey 
traveled on till daylight. Then the}^ found a 



BITS OF HISTORY. wj 

large hollow log. They crawled into it and 
went to sleep. 

In the morning when the Indians awoke, 
they missed Isaac and Joseph. They also 
missed their gun. They were astonished. 
They called their dogs. The dogs smelled on 
the ground and found the bo3^s' tracks. They 
barked and ran away quickly into the woods. 
The Indians followed them, but they could not 
keep up with them. The dogs followed the 
tracks to the hollow log. They put their noses 
into the hole and barked loudly. Isaac awoke. 
He looked out of the hollow log, and saw the 
Indian dogs. He called them and gave each of 
them a piece of meat. The dogs were hungry. 
They ate the meat and stopped barking. They 
became friends of the boys. They ran away 
from the log into the woods. In a minute the 
Indians came along and followed the dogs. 
The dogs led them far away from Isaac and 
Joseph. 

All that day the boys remained in the log. 
When night came, they crawled out and began 
to travel on again. They had lost their moose 
meat, and they were hungry. They now had 
nothing to eat, except the dry, Indian bread. 
The}" took it from their pockets and nibbled at 
it as the\^ walked on. They traveled all that 
night. When morning came, they hid them- 



11$ ni TS OF HIS TOR Y. 

selves again. On the third day Isaac shot a 
pigeon. He was afraid to kindle a tire, because 
the Indians might see the smoke and discover 
them. So the boys ate the flesh of the pigeon 
raw. By and by they found a turtle. They 
broke its shell and ate the raw meat. 

The boys continued to travel on. They had 
now been in the woods eight days. They were 
very tired, and their feet were bare and bleed- 
ing. Their clothes were torn and ragged. 
Joseph was discouraged. He fell to the ground. 
He was weak and could not walk an}- farther. 
Isaac rubbed his legs and bathed his face with 
water. He spoke kind words to him and tried 
to encourage him, but still Joseph could not get 
up. 

Isaac was about to leave Jose])h to die in the 
woods. He ran a little distance ahead. He 
peeped out of the bushes and saw a house. He 
knew that English peo]de lived there, and he 
jumped up and down with joy. He ran back 
and told Jose])h the news. Joseph opened his 
e3^es. He tried to get up, but he could not. 
Then Isaac helped him up. He took him by 
the hand and led him a little distance. Joseph 
again fell to the ground. Then Isaac took him 
up in liis arms and carried him to the house. 

Isaac was right. English jicople lived in 
that house. Thev were in Maine, near the 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



iig 



town of Saco. The boys had traveled hundreds 
of miles. The people in the house were kind 
to the bo37s. They gave them warm food 
to eat and tea to drink. By and by Joseph was 
better. Then the good people sent Isaac and 
Joseph back to their homes. Their parents 
thought that the boys were dead, but God had 
taken care of them and had brought them back 
safely to their homes. 



REBECCA AND ABIGAIL BA TES. 

MANY 3^ears ago a man named Mr. Bates 
lived near the town of Scituate, Mass. 
He was a light-house keeper. His wife was 
dead, but he had two daughters. Their names 
were Rebecca and Abigail. Rebecca was eight- 
een years old, and Abigail was four years 
younger. They were good girls. They cooked 
and kept house for their father. 

In the year 1811 many British ships crossed 
the Atlantic Ocean and came to the coast of 
America. They gave a great deal of trouble to 
the Americans. They seized many American 
ships and destroyed them with all their valuable 
cargoes. They also burned many towns 
belonging to the Americans. 

One afternoon at about six o'clock, Rebecca 
and Abigail were bus}^ setting the table and 



120 BITS Of HIS TOR } '. 

gettin<^ supper ready for their father. Pretty 
soon they saw a lar<^e ship comin*^' up the bay 
towards the town. The}^ knew at once that it 
was a British ship. The}' were much alarmed. 
There were two American ships loaded with 
barrels of flour near the wharf. Rebecca and 
Abi<.;ail knew that the British meant to destroy 
all the flour and, perhaps, to burn the whole 
town. At that time all the soldiers and strong 
men of the town were awa\^ from their homes, 
and there was nobody to defend it from the 
British. 

The two girls became very anxious. They 
felt i)ity for the poor people. They wanted 
ver}' much to save the flour from the British. 
At flrst they thought that they would take their 
father's two guns and shoot the British, if they 
touched the flour, but tlicv knew that the 
British would fire back £ind, perhaps, kill them. 
So the}" kept on thinking. By and by they 
thought of the following plan to deceive the 
British : 

There were a large drum and a fife in their 
father's house. Rebecca took the drum, and 
Abigail took the fife. Then they ran as fast as 
they could to ci ca])e. which was at some 
distance beyond the town. They lii<l behind 
a high rock. The British could not see them. 
They ])eeped from behind the rock. They saw 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



121 



the British anchor their ship in the middle of 
tlie bay. Then they saw tlie men take their 
arms and get into a large row-boat. They 
watched the boat and saw the men rowing it 
towards the town. They began to feel some- 
what afraid and trembled a little. But soon 
they became brave. Rebecca beat the big drum, 
and Abigail played on her fife. They looked 




towards the boat. Pretty soon they saw that all 
the oars were still and raised above the water. 
The men in the boat were very quiet and 
appeared to be listening. Rebecca beat her 
drum harder, and Abigail blew her fife louder. 



122 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



The British in the boat heard the noise. They 
suspected that man}^ American soldiers were 
gettinj^ read}' to attack them, and they became 
frightened. The captain steered the boat 
around quickly, and they all went back lo their 
ship. Then they pulled up the anchor and 
sailed away. 

Rebecca and Abigail were delighted with 
their success. The people at Scituate had seen 
the British ship. They also saw the boat com- 
ing towards the town. They expected that 
everything in the town would be destroA'ed. 
But the}^ were surprised at seeing the boat turn 
and go back so suddenly. The}^ could not 
tmderstand about it By and b}^ the\' saw 
Rebecca and Abigail Bates coming home with 
the drum and fife. Then they understood about 
it, and they laughed hard. They thought that 
the girls were very smart. They thanked them 
very much for saving the flour and all their 
homes. 

THE ADVENTURES OF ISRAEL ISRAEL. 

MRS. ISRAEL was a widow\ who lived in 
Pennsylvania. She had two sons. The 
youngest was a soldier in Washington's army. 
The other was a farmer and lived in Wilming- 
ton, Delaware. His name was Israel Israel. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 123 

In the Slimmer of 1777 the British took pos- 
session of Philadelphia. Then all the American 
people living there were treated ver}^ cruelly by 
the British. Their food was very scarce, and 
their clothes were ragged. Mrs. Israel suffered 
very much. Her flour was all gone, and she 
had no money to buy more. Her oldest son, 
who lived in Wilmington, heard about her 
suffering. He wished very much to help her. 
So one dark night he filled a large basket with 
provisions and started to walk to Philadelphia. 
When he came near the city, he saw the British 
sentinels, but he slyly passed them and arrived 
safely at his mother's house. There he was 
surprised to meet his younger brother. He, also, 
had heard of his mother's sufferings, and had 
come secretly home to help her. But a negro 
servant saw him at home and meanl}^ told the 
British about him. 

While the two brothers were eating supper 
with their mother, they heard a loud knock on 
the front door. Mrs. Israel was alarmed. She 
knew that the British had come to capture her 
sons. The younger son ran up to the attic, 
opened a window and climbed upon the roof of 
the house. Then he jumped to another build- 
ing and escaped to Washington's arm}^ Israel, 
the older son, was not a soldier. He did not 
think that the British would capture him. He 



124 BITS Of HISTORY. 

went boldly to the door and opened it. But the 
British thought that he was the younger son. 
They captured him and meant to lead him away 
to prison. But he denied that he was a soldier. 
He got his brother's uniform and showed them 
that it (lid not lit him. Then the British saw 
that they had made a mistake, and the}^ set him 
free. Then they searched about the house for 
the 3^ounger son, but the}^ failed to find him 
and went away. 

The next morning Israel bade his mother 
good-l)3^e and returned to his home in \\'\\- 
mington. When he arrived there, he was again 
arrested by several British officers. The news 
had spread that he was a sp3\ So they put him 
in i)rison on board a British ship, named the 
Roebuck. This ship was anchored in the Dela- 
ware river just opposite Israel's house, and it 
was full of American prisoners. 

The British treated Israel Israel very cruelly. 
They stole his gold watch and stripped his 
clothes from his l)od3\ His food was very 
scant3\ and he had to sleep on a coil of hard 
rope. One day the British officers saw a herd 
of cows feeding in a meadow near Israel's house. 
The}" asked him if the cows belonged to him. 
He replied that the}" did. Then they asked 
liini. if he would sell them to feed the British 
army. He boldly replied that he would rather 



BITS OF HISTORY. 125 

make Washington a present of them than to re- 
ceive a thousand dollars for them from the 
British. This made the British officers very 
angry. They at once ordered some soldiers to 
go to the meadow and kill all the cows. The 
soldiers prepared to obey. They got into the 
boats and rowed toward the shore. 

Just then the wife of Israel Israel looked from 
her window towards the British prison ship. 
She saw the soldiers rowing the boat toward 
the meadow. She at once knew that they were 
going to steal her cows. She and her little son, 
eight years old, ran to the meadow. Thev be- 
gan to drive the cows towards the barn-vard. 
The British soldiers ordered her to stop, or they 
would shoot her, but she did not mind them. 
Then the}^ fired a shower of bullets at her. 
Some of the balls tore her clothes, but she was 
not hurt. She continued to drive the cows 
towards the yard. The British again fired at 
her. Her little son was wounded and fell to the 
ground. But the bold mother took him up in 
her arms and kept on driving the cows. Pretty 
soon they all arrived at the barn-5^ard. The 
British kept on following the cows, but Mrs. 
Israel's neighbors had heard the tiring of the 
guns, and the}^ all seized their guns and ran to 
help her. The British saw the neighbors com- 



126 BI TS OF HIS TOR \ '. 

ing, and they were frightened cind ran quickly 
to their boats. Thus the cows were all saved. 
Some time afterwards Mr. Israel was tried 
by the British officers. They decided that he 
was a sp3^ and concluded to hang him. Then 
he took from his pocket his Free Mason badge 
and showed it to them. Many of the British 
officers were Free Masons. They were afraid 
to put a member of their society to death. 
Their hearts became softened towards Mr. 
Israel, and at last the}^ set him free. Before 
they carried him to the shore in their boat, they 
gave him some handkerchiefs and pins to take 
to Mrs. Israel, because they admired her 
bravery in saving his cows. 



A FEMALE SPY. 



MISS MONCRIEFFE was a young English 
lady. She was handsome and well-edu- 
cated. Her parents were wealthy. They lived 
in England, but at the time of the Revolutionary 
War Miss Moncrieffe was visiting a friend, 
named Mr. Wood, near Peekskill. N. Y. 

In the summer of 1776 the British took the 
cities of Brooklyn and New York from the 
Americans. Then Washington and his army 
went farther up the Hudson river and formed 



BITS OF HISTORY, 



127 



a camp near Peekskill. While they were stop- 
ping there, several of the American officers 
became acquainted with Miss Moncrieffe. She 
entertained them so well that they often went 
to Mr. Wood's house to visit her. She pre- 
tended that she was their true friend, and told 
them that she hated George the Third. She 
also told them that the British did wrong to 
fight against the Americans. The officers 
believed the 3^oung lady and told her many 
secret things about the American army. Lastly 
they told her that Washington was planning to 
attack the British in a few days. 

But Miss Moncrieffe deceived Washington's 
officers. She was indeed a friend of the British. 
As soon as the officers left the house, she wrote 
a letter to General Howe, who commanded the 
British in New York city. She told him all 
that she had heard about Washington's plans. 
She put the letter in her bosom. Then she 
mounted a spirited' horse and started to carry 
the letter to the British camp. While she was 
riding past a farmer's house, a dog ran into the 
road and barked at her horse. The horse 
became frightened. It quickly wheeled around 
and the lady fell to the ground, striking her 
head against the hard ground. She became 
unconscious. There were no men near to help 
her, but the ladies of the house rushed out to 



I2S BI TS OF HIS TOR 1 '. 

her. The}^ took her up in their arms, carried 
her into the house, and placed her upon a bed. 
The}' bathed her head witli cold water and gave 
her medicine. . Pretty soon one of the ladies 
opened the front of her dress so that she could 
breathe more easily. In so doing the letter fell 
out upon the bed, but the ladies did not suspect 
an^'thing wrong. The}^ put the letter upon the 
table and attended to their i)atient. 

But in a few minutes Miss Moncrieflfe 
recovered consciousness. Then she saw that 
the front of her dress was unbuttoned. She 
put her hand into her bosom to see if the letter 
was there, but it was gone. She became very 
much excited and cried out, " Where is m)^ 
letter? Bring it to me at once." Just then 
the owner of the house came in from his work. 
He heard the cries of the lad3^ and he suspected 
that something was wrong. He took the letter 
from the table, and saw thcit it was addressed 
to General Howe. He refused to give it to the 
lady. He opened it and read it. He perceived 
at once that she was a British sp3^ He arrested 
her and took her to AVashington's camp. Then 
she was cast into prison. In her trunk were 
found many letters from the British officers. 
These showed that she had been helping them 
several times before. She remained in prison 
for several mruiths. Then she was released 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



I2g 



and sent to her parents in England. If she had 
been a man, Washington would have ordered 
her to be hanged. 



COLONEL COCHRAN'S ESCAPE. 

IN the year 1777 General Gates sent Colonel 
Cochran to Canada as a sp}^ to watch Bur- 
goyne's army. While he was there, he was 
taken quite ill. Then he was in much trouble. 
He had no home and no kind friends to help 
him. He wanted to go to somebody's house 
and ask for help, but he was afraid of being 
captured by the British. He was so weak that 
he could not walk, and he felt that he was grow- 
ing worse every day. 

Pretty soon he saw a log cabin at some 
distance from him. He resolved to go to it and 
ask for assistance. So he began to creep on his 
hands and knees towards it. When he arrived 
quite near the cabin, he saw three men and a 
woman standing near the door-steps. They 
were talking together. One of the men was the 
owner of the cabin and the woman was his wife. 
The other two men w^ere his brother and his 
brother-in-law. Colonel Cochran crawled softly 
under a pile of bush and listened to them. He 
was surprised to hear them speak his own name, 



I JO BI TS OF HIS TOR 1 ' 

and he listened more attentively. He heard 
them say that Colonel Cochran of the American 
£irm3^ was hiding as a sp}' somewhere in that 
neighl)orhood. He also heard them say that 
General Burg03me had offered a large sum of 
money to anybody who would capture him. 
They all said that they were very anxious to 
capture him, because they wanted to receive the 
reward. By and by the three men left the 
cabin and w^ent away to look for him. 

When they were out of sight, Colonel Coch- 
ran looked towards the cabin. He could see no 
one except the w^oman. He felt very weak and 
was afraid that he would soon die. So he 
crawled on his hands and knees to the cabin. 
He met the woman and confessed ever^^thing to 
her. He told her that his name was Colonel 
Cochran and that he was an American sp3\ 
Then he told her of his sickness and asked her 
to have compassion on him. His story brought 
tears to her eyes. She could not refuse to help 
him. She at once led him to a bed-room and 
allowed him to lie on the bed. She ga\e him 
warm food and medicine. He lay on the bed 
for three hours. 

By and by the woman looked out of her 
window and saw her husband and the other two 
men coming across the field. She ran quickly 
to the bed-room and called Colonel Cochran. 



BITS OF HISTORY. iji 

She led him to a closet, which was near the 
cook stove, and hid him in it. Just as she had 
shut the closet door, the men came to the steps. 
She ran to meet them and asked them if they 
had found the spy. They said "No," but they 
felt sure that he was not far away. They told 
her that they had returned for their dinner. 
After dinner they meant to search for him 
again. So the woman got dinner ready for 
them. While the woman was setting the table, 
her husband went to the closet and meant to 
open it. But she quickly put her back against 
the door and said, "What do you want? Tell 
me, and I will get it for you." He told her that 
he wanted his pipe, which was on a shelf in the 
closet. Then the woman got the pipe for him, 
and he went away, not knowing that Colonel 
Cochran was hiding there. 

After dinner the three men' left the cabin 
and went away again to look for the spy. Then 
the woman went to the closet. She opened 
the door, and Colonel Cochran came out. She 
told him that he had better not stay at her cabin 
any longer, for she was afraid that her husband 
would tind him and would take him to Bur- 
go^me to be hanged. She advised him to go to 
a hill half a mile awa}^ and hide there. She 
said that she would carry food to him every 
day. But he did not want to leave the kind 



^J-' 



JUTS Of HISTORY 



woman. He told her that he would hide in the 
pile of brush, where he had hidden before. Then 
she told him that her husband meant to burn 
the brush on the followin<^ {\i\\. So he bade 
her j^ood-bye and went away to the hill. She 
carried food to him for several days, and by and 
by he .Ci^ot well. Then he left Canada and 
returned to the United States. 

Many years afterwards, when the war was 
over, Colonel Cochran met the same woman at 
Fort Ticondero<^ain New York, cind he rewarded 
her handsomely for savin<^ his life. 



THE EXPLOITS OE PETER FRANCISCO. 

IN the 3^ear 1781 the British did a ^reat deal 
of mischief at the South. They burned the 
houses of the " Americans everywhere. They 
also stole and carried off their horses and cattle 
and destroyed their grain, fruits, and vegetables. 
At that time Peter Francisco was in \'ir- 
ginia. He was a brave and dashing American 
officer. ( )ne day he went into the counliy to 
watch the British. At noon he went to the 
house of a "friend, named Mr. Wand, to take 
dinner. After dinner he went into the back- 
yard to smoke his cigar. Suddenly nine of 
Tarleton's cavab-vmen came and surrounded 



BITS OF HISTORY. ijj: 

the house. Peter knew that he could not con- 
quer so many men. So he did not resist, but 
quietly allowed them to take him prisoner. 

Seeing that Peter was so obedient and quiet, 
the British left only one man to watch him. 
All the others went into Mr. Wands house to 
plunder. While they were in the house, the 
soldier, who was watching Peter, told him to 
give him his gold watch, rings, and other jewelry, 
Peter obeyed. He first took his gold watch 
from his vest pocket and handed it to him. 
Then the soldier put his sword under his arm 
and began to examine it. Peter then pretended 
to take his tight ring from his finger. In doing 
so he slyly walked a little behind the soldier's 
back. Then he quickly snatched the sword 
from the soldier's arm and struck him upon his 
head. The' soldier fell to the ground, but he 
drew his pistol from his belt and fired it at 
Peter. The ball tore his sleeve, but he was 
not hurt. Then Peter cut off one of the sol- 
dier's hands and started to run from the house. 

While he was running, a British officer 
came galloping on horseback and began to 
chase him. Peter ran as fast as he could, but 
the officer soon overtook him. He aimed his 
pistol at Peter, and meant to kill him, but it 
missed fire. Then Peter rushed upon the offi- 
cer. He struck at him with his sword and 



7j^ BITS OF HISTORY. 

wounded him so badl}^ that he fell to Ih*^ 
l^n )und. Then Peter mounted the officer's horse 
and bej^an to gallop away. But ])retty soon he 
turned his head, and saw all the other horsemen 
following him. Poor Peter was now in much 
trouble. He felt that the British would cer- 
tainly capture him and would take revenge 
upon him for wounding their two friends. Sud- 
denly a new thought came into his head. He 
([uickl}' reined his horse into a thick grove 
of trees. Then he hallooed ver}' loudl^^ 
"Come on my brave men. Don't hre \'et, wait 
till they come near." The British horsemen 
heard Peter shouting. They thought that a 
compan}^ of Americans were hiding among 
the trees. They were much frightened and 
galloped away as fast as they could. Then 
brave Peter Francisco rode home witli his stolen 
horse. He had lost his gold watch, but the 
horse was worth much more money than the 
watch. 



ALECK MURRA Y AND HIS HORSE. 

ALECK MURRAY was eighteen years old. 
He lived in North Carolina. He had three 
brothers, but they were all awa}^ from home. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



135 




ij6 BITS OF HISTORY. 



They were soldiers and were fighting against 
the British. Aleck wanted very much to go to 
war too, but he was the youngest son. He 
must, therefore, be patient and stay at home to 
take care of his aged parents. 

After the battle of Cowpens, Cornwallis's 
arm}^ invaded North Carolina. This made 
Aleck feel very angry. He grew ^•er^^ impa- 
tient, and could sta}^ at home no longer. So 
one da}^ he went to his father and said, " Father, 
I must go to help fight against the British. I 
am eighteen 3xars old, and I am ashamed to sta}- 
cit home and allow the British to con(|uer my 
own n^itive state." 

So the next morning Aleck put on his blue 
coat, took his gun from the hooks, mounted his 
horse, and, after bidding his parents good-bye, 
galloped awa}" to join General Greene's d.xvsiy. 

The name of Aleck's horse was Liberty He 
was a noble, black animal. He was very 
spirited and could jump across wide ditches, or 
leap over high fences. Yet he was as kind as 
a child. He knew Aleck's voice and would fol- 
low him about like a dog. Aleck was indeed 
very proud of Liberty. 

Aleck was a brave boy. He fought against 
the British in many battles and had man}^ nar- 
row escapes. General Greene was ]iroud of 
him. The British heard about Aleck's brave 



BITS OF HISTORY. /j^ 



deeds and they wanted to capture him. So one 
day some of them hid in some bushes and 
waited for Aleck to come along. Suddenly 
they sprang forward, caught him and made him 
a prisoner. They took Liberty from him 
and made poor Aleck march through the 
country with many other prisoners. 

At night they all stopped at a field and put 
up their tents. The British made the prisoners 
bring fence rails to the camp. Then they made 
a large pen and put the prisoners into it, where 
they must stay until the next morning. The 
British had plenty of food to eat. They went 
to the farm houses and stole milk, eggs, and 
fowls, but they gave nothing except raw ears of 
green corn to the prisoners. 

When it began to grow dark, Aleck peeped 
through the rails of the pen. He could see 
Liberty at a little distance away, feeding on the 
green grass. He was not fastened, but he had 
a large piece of wood tied to one of his fore-legs 
to keep him from running awa}^ Aleck 
whistled and called to him in a low voice. 
Liberty heard him and knew his voice. He 
walked to the pen, dragging the piece of wood. 
He put his nose between the rails of the pen, 
and Aleck rubbed it with his hands and said, 
"Good Liberty." Then he gave him several 
ears of corn, which the prisoners had left. 



ijS BITS OF HISTORY. 



Aleck wanted to mount Libert}^ and try" to 
escape, but a British sentinel stood near the pen 
holding a loaded gun. So he thought that he 
had better wait till some other time. All that 
night Aleck slept in the pen with the other 
prisoners. The next morning the British fed 
them with green corn again, and then made 
them march through the country. Aleck saw 
that the British were driving him and the prison- 
ers towards his own home. At abotit noon of 
that day an old man with his cane came walking 
along the road. He did not see the British sol- 
diers. So they seized him and |)ut him cmiong 
the prisoners. Aleck perceived that the old 
man was his own father, but he did not want 
the British to know about it. The father and son 
looked into each other's faces and recognized 
each other. They were surprised, but Aleck 
put his finger to his lips as a sign for his father 
to keep silent. 

All that afternoon the prisoners tramped on. 
Aleck's father was very old and could not walk 
as fast as the other prisoners. The British 
often struck him with their ba3^onets to make 
him walk faster. B}^ and by he grew so weak 
and tired that he fell to the ground. The 
British tried to make him get up, but he could 
not do so. Then they marched on again and 
left him. Aleck looked back and saw his father 



BITS OF HISTORY. ijg 

lying on the ground. He pitied him. He re- 
membered the place and was determined to 
help him, if he could. 

When night came, they all stopped, and the 
prisoners were again shut up in a pen in the 
same way as the night before. All that even- 
ing Aleck kept planning to escape from the 
British. He wore a blue coat. The inside of 
it was lined with red flannel. Now a new 
thought came into his head. He took off his 
blue coat and turned the sleeves inside out. 
Then he put the coat on again. It was 
now red and it looked just like the coats 
worn by the British. The sentinels were laugh- 
ing and talking together. The}' were not 
watching the prisoners carefull3^ Quickly 
Aleck climbed over the rails of his pen and 
calml}^ walked between the British sentinels. 
They saw him, but his red coat deceived them. 
They thought that he was one of their own 
men, and allowed him to pass on, 

Aleck hastened to the place where his 
father had fallen down. The moon was shin- 
ing, and it was not very dark. He searched 
among the bushes. Pretty soon he saw some- 
thing black lying on the ground. He went to it 
and said, "Father, is that 5^ou?" His father 
raised his head and saw his son, Aleck. He was 
very glad. He had thought that he would never 



1^0 BI TS OF HIS TOR 1 '. 

see Aleck aj^ain, and he had lain /lown to die. 
Aleck told his father to follow him. and they 
wonld try to escape, but his le^s werestiti'. He 
could not walk and fell upon the ground again. 
Then Aleck took him up in his arms and car- 
ried him along, but he was very heavy, and 
soon Aleck had to put him down and rest. 
While he was resting, he saw a black ol)ject 
coming towards him. He was a little frightened 
and stooped down behind some bushes, but in a 
minute he saw that it was Liberty, his favorite 
horse. He was very glad, and he patted his 
head and said, " Good Liberty." 

Soon after Aleck had left the pen, Libert}^ 
went there to see his master, but he was not 
there. Then he went about from place to place 
dragging the piece of wood tied to his leg. He 
wanted to hnd Aleck, and he did tind him at 
last. Aleck cut the stick from Liberty's leg. 
He put his father upon his back and then 
mounted him himself. They rode Liberty 
towards home and arrived there at al)OUt mid- 
night. The next morning his father was 
better. Again Aleck bade his father good-bye. 
Then he mounted Liberty and galloped away 
to join General Greene's army. He arrived 
there just in time to help fight in the battle of 
Guilford Court House. 



BITS OF HISTORY. i^i 



STORY OF EMILY GEIGER. 



IN the year 1781. the British had a certain fort 
in South Carolina. It was named Fort 
Ninety-Six, and was commanded by Colonel 
Cruger. In June of that 3^ear General Greene 
tried to take it from the British. He besieged 
it for twenty-seven da3^s. He would have cap- 
tured it, but just as Colonel Cruger was getting 
ready to surrender, Lord Rawdon came with 
more British troops to help him. 

General Greene's little army was too weak to 
continue the seige. So he began a hasty retreat 
towards Camden, but Lord Rawdon pursued 
him. Greene was in much danger. He felt 
that he and all his army would be made pris- 
oners by the British. Just then he thought of 
Colonel Sumter, who commanded a company 
of cavalrymen, and who at that time was stop- 
ping many miles awa}^ beyond the Congaree 
river. So he wrote a letter to Colonel Sumter 
telling him to come immediately to his assist- 
ance. 

No man in General Greene's arm^^ was 
willing to take the letter to Sumter, because 
there were many Tories in that country, and the 



143 BITS OF HISTORY. 

soldiers were all afraid of heinj:^ captured 'and 
hanged as spies. General Greene was sorr}^ and 
he felt much troubled for the safety of his little 
army. Early the next morning a 3'oung girl 
came riding on a spirited horse to Greene's 
camp. Her name was Emily Geiger, and she 
was sixteen years old. She was a handsome 
young girl. She told General Greene that she 
had heard that he wanted to send a letter to 
Colonel Sumter. She said that she would be 
pleased t(^ take the letter, if by so doing, she 
could help her countr}'. General Greene was 
surprised at her bravery, and told her that he 
was ver}^ glad of her offer. He read the letter 
to her, so that she could tell Sumter what it 
was about, if it should get lost. Then he handed 
it to her, and she thought how she could 
hide it. 

She wore a gold locket around her neck. In 
this locket were two pictures of her parents. 
She took her f^ither's picture out of the locket 
and put the letter carefully folded in its place. 
Then she closed the locket and put it in her 
bosom. When everything was ready, she bade 
General Greene good-bye and galloped away 
towards Sumter's camp. 

Wdien she had ridden some distance into the 
country, two Tories saw^ her and cried out to her 
to stop. But she refused to obey them. She 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



H3 



whipped her horse and rode away out of their 
sight as swiftly as a deer. So they did not catch 
her. All that day she continued to ride on and, 
when evening came, she saw a bright lire in the- 
far distance. She turned her horse from the road 
towards it, but when she came near it, she was 
frightened to see many British soldiers sitting 
around it. She turned her horse towards the 
road again, walking over the soft grass, so that 
they could not hear her. Then she galloped 
away, feeling very thankful that she had 
escaped from them. 

Pretty soon she arrived on the bank of the 
Congaree river. It was now nearly midnight. 
She had ridden seventeen hours since that 
morning. She was tired, hungry, and sleepy. 
So she dismounted and allowed her horse to 
feed on the green grass, while she sat on a log 
and ate her luncheon from her bag. By and 
b}^ she fell into a sound sleep. After sleeping 
for some time, she was suddenly awakened by 
the snorting of her horse close at her ears. 
She jumped up quickly to see what the matter 
was. She saw her faithful horse standing near 
her and trembling with fear. Pretty soon she 
saw a large wolf glaring at her. She ran 
bravely towards it and shouted at it with all 
her might. The wolf was frightened and ran 
awa}^ into the woods. 



1^4 BITS OF HISTORY. 

Then Emily mounted her horse, crossed the 
river, and rode on again towards Sumter's camp. 
At about noon the next day, while she was rid- 
ing through a thick forest, four Tories sudden l_v 
sprang out of the bushes and seized her horse's 
bridle. She whipped her horse to make it go 
on, but they held the bridle hrmly and stoi)ped* 
him. Then the}^ asked Emily from what 
place she had come. She replied, " From the 
Congaree river." But they did not believe her. 
They thought that she had come from General 
Greene's army and was a spy. The}^ also sus- 
l)ected that she had some valuable letters on 
her person. So the}' led her to a log cabin at a 
little distance away and shut her up in a room. 
They told the woman of the log cabin to search 
Emil3''s person to see if she could tind an}^ 
letters. The woman was making bread at that 
time, and her hands were covered with dough. 
So she went to wash them, while the men stood 
around the house watching, for fear that Emih^ 
might escape out of the windows. 

While the woman was washing her hands, 
Emily took the letter from her locket. She 
was afraid that the woman would hnd it. then 
she would be hanged as a spy. At tirst she 
looked about the room for a place to hide it or to 
destroy it, but there was no i)lace. Then she 
tore it up and ate it i)iece by i)icce. until it was 



BITS OF HISTORY. 145 

all gone. Just then the woman came into the 
room. She searched Emily's pockets and 
clothes for a long time, but she found no letters. 
She then called the men and told them that they 
had made a mistake. Emily had no letters on her 
person and was not a spy. Then the men asked 
Emily to excuse them, because they had given 
her so inuch trouble, and they set her free. 

Emil}^ mounted her horse and again galloped 
away toAvards Sumter's camp. When she had 
ridden several miles, she saw a bod}" of cavalry 
beyond her. She did' not know wdiether they 
were British or Americans. She turned her 
horse from the road to a grove of trees, wdiere 
she watched them. She saw by their uniforms 
that they were Americans. 

She rode to one of the officers and told 
him that she wanted to see Colonel Sumter. 
The officer replied, " I am Colonel Sumter." 
Then she told him the contents of the letter, 
w^hich she had eaten. He quickh^ ordered his 
cavalry into a lively gallop, and hastened to 
Camden to help General Greene. The next day 
the Americans beat Lord Rawdon, and he was 
o bliged to flee from them. Thus General Greene 
and his little army were all saved by the 
bravery of Emily Geiger. 



146 BI TS OF Ills TOR Y. 



HOW THE PLAN 
OF THE TORIES WAS THWARTED. 



IN the 3^ear 17S1 Lord Cornwallis ordered 
Colonel Ferguson to annoy the Americans 
at the South. Accordingly he collected a com- 
pany of five hundred Tories. With these 
soldiers Ferguson went about from place to 
place, stealing the horses and cattle, burning 
the houses and barns, and destroying the crops 
of the Americans. 

This caused the Americans to feel ver^^ 
indignant. Two hundred of them met together 
in South Carolina. They chose Colonel Clarke 
to be their commander, and resolved to punish 
Colonel Ferguson and his men. 

One da}'- this little army of Americans went 
out to watch for them, and at noon they cdl took 
dinner at the house of Mrs. Dillard. This lady 
was the wife of one of Colonel Clarke's men. 
She was a kind lady, and she prepared a nice 
dinner for them. After dinner they went out 
watching again, and at night they all encamped 
at " Green Spring." 



BITS OF HISTORY. 147 

At evening of the same day Colonel Fergu- 
son and his officers also stopped at Mrs. Dillard's 
house. They asked her if Colonel Clarke had 
been at her house during that day. She said, 
"Yes, but they had gone away several hours 
before." Then they asked her how man}^ sol- 
diers he had. She replied that she could not 
remember, but he had a pretty strong army. 
They then ordered her to get supper ready for 
them, for they were hungry and must travel many 
more miles that night. She knew that she must 
obey them. So she invited them into her sitting- 
room. Then she went into the kitchen to make 
some tea. While she was setting the table, she 
heard the officers talking together. She stood 
near the sitting-room door and listened for a 
few minutes. She heard them planning to 
attack Colonel Clarke at Green Spring that 
night. She had heard enough. She quickly 
got supper ready. Then she called them into 
the dining-room. They all sat around the table 
and began to eat their supper. 

While they were eating, Mrs. Dillard went 
into her kitchen and pretended to watch the 
tea. But suddenly she stole out of the back 
door and ran to the barn. She put the bridle 
on her best horse. Then she mounted it with- 
out QiWy saddle and galloped away towards 
Green Spring. All that dark night she rode on 



J4S BITS Of HISTOK ] '. 

without stoppin*^. The next morning, a little 
before da3"li(^ht, she met Colonel Clarke and her 
husband. She told them the news wdiich she 
had heard. She told them to be well prei)are(l, 
because Colonel Fer^^uson had many more men 
than they had. 

Colonel Clarke and his men got ever^^thing 
ready. They did not have to w^ait long, for 
just at daylight Colonel Ferguson and his meil 
arrived at Green Spring. They expected to 
sur])rise the Americans. The}^ thought that 
they all would be sound asleep. They rushed 
suddenly into the American camp shouting and 
screaming. But Colonel Clarke and his men 
fought them bravely. The battle continued 
for three hours. At last Colonel Ferguson, and 
his men were beaten and fled in dismay from 
the held. The Tories in South Carolina burned 
no more buildings after this, and w^ere very 
glad to behave themselves. 

When Colonel Ferguson and his men had 
tinished supper, they set tire to Mrs. Dillard's 
house and barn, and burned them to the ground, 
but Mrs. Dillard did not care so much for the 
loss of them, as she did for the safety of her 
husband and the other Americans. 



BITS OF HISTORY. i^g 



THE BRA VERY OF MRS. HENDEE. 



MR. HENDEE was a farmer who lived 
near Royalston, Vt He had a wife and 
several young children. In the year 1776 he 
left home and joined Washington's army to 
help fight against the British. Mrs. Hendee 
stayed at home and took care of her children. 

One day she was busy planting seed in her 
field at some distance from her house. Sud- 
denly several Indians rushed out of the woods 
and ran into her house. They seized her chil- 
dren, took them in their arms, and carried them 
across White river. They also carried off many 
other children of her neighbors to the same 
place and then burned the town. 

When Mrs. Hendee returned home and dis- 
covered that her children were gone, she was 
horrified at first, but she soon became calm and 
resolute. She went immediately to White river. 
This river was a hundred yards wide at that 
place, but was not very deep. She bravely 
dashed into it and waded across it to the farther 



ISO ni TS OF HIS TOR V. 

side. Then in her wet clothes she went fear- 
lessly to the Indian camp and demanded her 
children from the Indians. At first they refused 
to ^ive them up and began to tease her. They 
flourished their tomahawks al)out her head, 
pretending that they were going to kill her, but 
she stood her ground firmly, and earnestly 
entreated them to give back her children to her. 
Seeing that she was so bold and suffered so 
much for the sake of her children, their hearts 
became softened. They began to pity her, and 
finall}^ they allowed her to take her children 
from them. Then she led them to the river 
and carried them in her arms across it, one at 
a time, till they were all safe at their home. 

Still, brave Mrs. Hendee was not satisfied. 
While she was at the Indian camp, she saw 
several children of her neighbors. So she 
waded across the river and £igain went to the 
Indian camp. There she earnestly begged the 
Indians to set the other children free. The 
Indians again were touched at her perseverance, 
and the}" could not refuse her request. So they 
set all the children free, and she took the whole 
fifteen across the river in her arms. 

While Mrs. Hendee was wading back and 
forth across the river, the Indians watched her 
from their cam]). They were astonished at her 
perseverance. When she came back to get the 



BITS OF HISTORY. 151 

last child, one Indian admired her braver)^ so 
much, that he ran to her and said, " You are a 
bold squaw. Are you not tired? Let me help 
you. Get upon my shoulders, and 1 will take 
you and the papoose across the river." 

Seeing that she had won the hearts of the 
Indians, Mrs. Hendee now feared nothing. So 
she boldly mounted the Indian's back with the 
child in her arms, while he carried them safely 
to the farther side. Then she thanked him for 
his kindness and led all the children to their 
homes. Their parents were overjoyed at see- 
ing them safe at home again, and they prayed 
for blessings upon Mrs. Hendee's head for her 
noble deed. 

BOLD WOMEN IN MEN'S CLOTHES. 

ONCE there were two young men who were 
brothers. Their names were George and 
James Martin. They lived in South Carolina 
and were both married. When the Revolution- 
ary War began, they left their homes and 
became soldiers in Washington's army. Their 
wives, named Grace and Rachel, were afraid to 
stay at their homes alone. So the}^ went to 
live with their mother-in-law, until their hus- 
bands should come back from the war. 

One evening Grace and Rachel were sitting 
on the piazza at the house of their mother-in- 



IS2 BITS OF IflSTORY. 

law. They were talking and readinj^* toj^ether. 
Suddenly a boy came ninnin<T to them. He told 
them that a courier on horseback, «^uarded by two 
British soldiers, was coming along the road and 
would soon pass the house. Grace and Rachel 
knew that the courier was carrying some letters 
to the British army. They talked with each 
other for a few minutes and decided to try to 
seize the letters. So they went into the house 
and put on their husbands' pantaloons, coats, 
and hats. Then they took their swords and 
pistols and ran a little distance in the opposite 
direction from the courier. The}^ then hid in 
some bushes near the road and waited. 

Pretty soon the}^ heard the horses walking on 
the road. It was quite dark, but they watched 
carefulh\ In a few minutes the courier and 
guards began to pass them. Suddenly Grace 
and Rachel sprang from their hiding place. 
The}" aimed their i)istols at them and told them 
to stop, or they would shoot them. The guards 
were surprised. They believed that Grace and 
Rachel were men. The)^ trembled with fear 
and stopped their horses. Then the two women 
boldl}^ demcmded from them the letters which 
the}" were carrying to the British army. The 
courier was afraid to refuse, and gave them the 
letters at once. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 153 

Grace and Rachel took the letters and ran 
across a pasture to the house of their mother- 
in-law. They gave them to a messenger, 
and he took them to General Greene. These 
letters proved to be very important. Greene 
read them and found that the British were pre- 
paring to attack his army. So he sent for Lee 
and Sumter to come and help him. They then 
beat the British army. 

After Grace and Rachel Martin had seized 
the letters, the courier and guards decided not 
to go to the British army that night. So they 
turned their horses around and went back by the 
same way. By and by they arrived at the 
house of Grace and Rachel's mother-in-law. 
They went to the front door and knocked. 
The two women were somewhat frightened, 
for they had not 3^et changed their clothes. So 
they ran up the back-stairs quickly to change 
them, while the mother-in-law went to the door. 
The guards told her that they wanted to stop 
at her house during the night. She allowed 
them to do so. The)^ first put their horses into 
the barn and then went into the house. By 
this- time Grace and Rachel had finished chang- 
ing their clothes. They came down-stairs and 
their mother-in-law introduced them to the 
courier and British guards. Then they begun 
to talk with each other. By and by the mother- 



1 34- BITS OF HISTORY. 

in-law asked the guards why they had returned 
so quickly, for she had seen them go past her 
house about fifteen minutes before. They told 
her that the\' had been robbed b}' two rebels 
and had lost all their letters. Then Grace and 
Rachel with sober faces asked them wh}' they 
did not shoot the rebels. The\' replied that 
the}" were so suri)rised, and the two men acted 
so boldly, that they were afraid to use their 
pistols. The next morning the guards thanked 
the women for their kindness. Then the}' went 
away not knowing that Grace and ivachel were 
the "two rebels" who had robbed them of their 
letters. The two women had a good laugh 
over the affair. 



STORIES OF MRS. DAVIESS. 

IN the year 1782 Samuel Daviess was living 
at Gilmer's Lick in Kentucky. He was 
a farmer, and he had a wife and seven children. 
One morning he got up early, made a tire in 
his kitchen stove, and went to his tield to do 
some chores before breakfast. Pretty soon he 
saw an Indian coming towards him. He was 
somewhat frightened. He ran towards his 
house, but the Indian chased him. When he 
arrived at his door-steps, he was surprised to 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



155 



see four other Indians in his house. So he ran 
to his corn-field and hid behind the corn stalks. 
The Indian followed him there, but he lost 
sight of him. He looked for him for a long 
time, but he could not find him and gave up 
the search. Then Mr. Daviess ran from the 
field to his brother's house, which was five 
miles away. He told his brother and several 
men about the Indians, who had attacked his 
house. They all took their guns and hastened 
to the place. 

Meanwhile the four Indians, who were in 
the house, drove Mrs. Daviess and her children 
from their beds. They made them put on their 
clothes. They told them that they were their 
prisoners, and that they must march away into 
the woods to their camp. Mrs. Daviess was a 
brave woman. She believed that her husband, 
or somebody, would soon come to help her. So 
she began to amuse the Indians with some 
prett}^ things to make them stay there longer. 
She showed them her hand-mirror. They were 
much pleased with it and looked at it for a long 
time. Then she showed them some red, blue, 
and 3^ellow ribbons. They were delighted with 
their bright colors, and they wanted to take them 
home. Then she amused them with something 
else, and thus kept them in her house for tw^o 
hours. 



1^6 BITS OF HISTORY. 

By and by the Indian, who <:hased Mr. 
Daviess, came into the house. His hands were 
red, and the}" appeared to be covered with ])]ood. 
He danced and nourished his tomahawk. He 
made si<^ns to Mrs. Daviess, pretending that he 
had killed her husband. But she did not 
believe him. She kept cool. Soon she saw that 
his hands were covered with the juice of poke 
berries. Then she knew that her husband was 
still alive. 

Mrs. Daviess tried to make the Indians sta}" 
in her house still longer, but they grew impa- 
tient and refused to do so. So they stole her 
nice things, and then drove her and her sev^n 
children into the woods and began to march on 
towards the Indian camp. Pretty soon, Mr. 
Daviess and the men arrived at the house and 
found it empty. Then they followed the tracks 
of the Indians to the woods. They soon over- 
took them just as they were about to scalp Mrs. 
Daviess' oldest boy. They fired a gun. This 
noise frightened the Indians, and they left their 
prisoners and ran away into the woods. Thus 
all the familly were saved by the prudence of 
Mrs. Daviess in keeping the Indians at her house 
so long. 

, At another time Mr. Daviess was much 
annoyed by an Indian, who frequently came 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



157 



to his house and stole his things. He often 
tried to catch the thief. He wanted to send 
him to prison, but the Indian was cunning and 
escaped. 

One da}^ Mr. Daviess and several men went 
awa}^ to search for the Indian. While they 
were away, the same Indian came to his back- 
door and boldly stepped into his kitchen. Mrs. 
Daviess saw him, and she knew that he was the 
same thief fot whom her husband was looking. 
So she kept quiet and did not show any fear. 
She pretended that she did not know an3^thing 
about his thefts. She went to her pantr}^ and 
got a bottle of whiskey. She put it upon 
the table, and asked the Indian if he would 
like to drink some whiskey. He smiled and 
nodded. He was very fond of whiske}^ He 
thought that the woman was very kind. He 
did not suspect anything wrong. So he leaned 
his gun against the door and went to the table. 
He put the bottle to his mouth, shut his eyes, 
and began to drink. 

While he was drinking, Mrs. Daviess step- 
ped softly to the door. She took his loaded 
gun, cocked it, and stood holding it ready to 
shoot him. When the Indian had finished 
drinking, he opened his eyes, and saw Mrs. 
Daviess ready to shoot him. He was surprised 
and asked her why she wanted to shoot him. 



1^8 BITS OF HISTORY. 

She replied that he was the same thief for whom 
her husband was looking. She told him to sit 
down in a chair and remain there, until her 
husband came home. If he refused, she would 
shoot him instantly. The Indium w^as much 
frightened and trembled all over. He was 
afraid to disobe}^ her. So he sat down and kept 
very quiet. Mrs. Daviess watched him with the 
gun. until her husband and the men arrived. 
Then they seized him and took him away to 
prison. Mr. Daviess was very proud of his 
wife, because she was so brave and kept the 
Indian from running away. 



MR. IZARD'S NARROW ESCAPE. 

MR. Ralph Izard lived near Dorchester in 
South Carolina. During the Revolution- 
ary War he was an officer in the American 
army. He was ver}^ brave, and for that reason 
the British wished to capture him. 

One da}^ he left his army, crossed the Ashley 
river, and went to his home to see his wife and 
children for a short time. While he was there, 
a number of British soldiers came to the house 
and surrounded it. He saw them and perceived 
that there was no way for him to escape. So 
he went to his clothes-press and hid in it. 



BITS OF HISTORY. i^g 

Pretty soon the British soldiers entered the 
house. They met Mrs. Izard and asked her 
where her husband was. The}^ told her that 
they certainly knew that he was hiding some- 
where in the house, and that they would 
burn the house, if she refused to show them 
the place where her husband was hiding. 

But Mrs. Izard was an intelligent woman. 
She evaded their questions. She led them into 
all her rooms. They looked under all her beds 
and behind all the doors. Then she showed 
them all her closets. They looked into them, 
but they could not find Mr. Izard. Then she 
showed them the way to the cellar. They 
searched every place in the house, but she did 
not show them her clothes-press. The British 
soldiers became cross and disappointed. They 
stole many of her nice things. TThey even took 
her gold rings from her fingers, but she was 
polite and did not scold them„ She did not care 
so much about the loss of those things, as she 
did for the safety of her husband. When they 
had stolen all the things that they could find, 
they left the house and went awaA^ 

Then Mr. Izard jumped quickly from the 
clothes-press. He went out of the back door 
and ran to the Ashley river. Then he took a 
boat and crossed the river. There he met his 
soldiers and told them of his narrow escape. 



i6o BITS or HISTORY. 

Quickly a compan3^of cavalry crossed the river 
and rode towards the place. 

Meanwhile, the British soldiers had returned 
to Mr. Izard's house. They searched it a second 
time and carried off many more things. This 
time the}^ opened the clothes-press, but the}^ did 
not hnd Mr. Izard there. Just as the}^ were 
leavino^ the house, the company of cavalry' 
arrived at the pkice. They took many of the 
British soldiers prisoners and restored to Mrs. 
Izard all the things which they had stolen. 



MISS BISHOP AND HER PONY. 

COLONEL TARLETON was a British sol- 
dier. He was a brave man, but very cruel. 
He often treated the Americans very shame- 
fully. 

Once, during the Revolutionary War, he 
rode through North Carolina with a company 
of cavalr}', and annoyed the Americans a great 
deal. He allowed his men to steal all the horses, 
cattle,, hogs, and fowls that they could hnd. 
He did not w^ant them for food, but he wished 
to destroy them to give trouble to the Ameri- 
cans. 

One day Colonel Tarleton's men came to the 
house of Mr. Bishop, who was a farmer. Mr. 
Bishop, his wife, and his servants were afraid 



BITS OF HISTORY. i6i 

of Tarleton. They left the house and fled to a 
swamp. But Mr. Bishop had one daughter, 
who was very brave. Her name was Annie, 
and she was fifteen 3^ears old. She refused to 
leave the house. She boldly told Tarleton and 
his men to go away from the place, but they 
paid no attention to her orders. The}^ began to 
steal her father's horses, cows, and poultry. 
By and by the}^ took her favorite pony and led 
it away to their camp. 

Annie was much grieved at the loss of her 
pony. It was presented to her by her uncle. 
It was very kind and gentle. She rode on its 
back every day, and she loved it ver}^ much. 
Now those cruel British soldiers had taken it 
away from her. She was very much provoked. 
When evening came, she put on her things and 
walked through the woods alone to Tarleton's 
camp. The distance was over a mile from her 
home, and it was quite dark, but she was a brave 
girl. When she arrived at Tarleton's camp, she 
walked up boldly to him and said, "Sir, your 
mean soldiers came to my father's house this 
afternoon and stole my pet pony. I have 
walked here alone in the dark to get it. I love 
it and I must have it back again. I am not 
afraid of your men. I know that the}^ are bad 
and wicked, but they dare not hurt a little girl 
like me." 



1 62 BITS OF HISTORY. 

Just then the camp fire burned up bri<^htly. 
and Annie saw her pony fastened to a tree a 
few yards away. "There is my pony," she 
said. She ran to it and unfastened it. Then 
she mounted it and galloped away to her home. 
Tarleton and his men admired her bravery so 
much that they did not stop her. 



SAILED BY A WOMAN'S BRA VER J \ 

MR. RICHARD SHUBRICK lived in South 
Carolina. He had a wife but no children. 
When the War of the Revolution began, he 
became a soldier in the American Army. Mrs. 
Shubrick stayed at home with several of her 
lady friends. 

One da}^ an American soldier came running 
to her house, He was ver}^ tired and breathed 
hard. He told Mrs. Shubrick that several 
British soldiers were chasing him. He said that 
they meant to capture him and to put him into 
prison. He begged her to defend him from the 
British. 

Mrs. Shubrick's heart Avas touched. She 
felt pity for the poor American soldier and de- 
termined to try to save him. So she led him up- 
stairs to her chamber and told him to hide there. 
He did so. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 163 

By and by the British soldiers arrived at the 
house. They told the ladies that they were 
looking for an American soldier. They said 
that they knew he was hiding somewhere in 
the house, because they had seen him running 
towards it. Then the soldiers were cross. 
They demanded the American soldier from the 
ladies, and said that they would burn the house, 
if they refused to give him up. 

The other ladies were frightened and ran 
from the house, but Mrs. Shubrick stood in the 
door-way of her chamber and calmly waited. 
The British soldiers searched all the rooms. 
By and by they went up-stairs. Then she put 
her arms across the door-way and said to them. 
"This is my private chamber. I am a lady. 
It would be impolite for you to enter it. A 
lady's chamber should be as sacred as the 
sanctuary. Besides I will defend it, until I am 
dead. Then you will have to step over my body 
to go into it." 

The British soldiers admired Mrs. Shubrick's 
bravery. They did not try to get into her 
chamber, but the}^ searched all the other rooms. 
B}^ and by they became tired of searching and 
went away from the house. Then the American 
soldier came out of his hiding-place. He 
thanked Mrs. Shubrick many times for saving 
him from the British soldiers. Then he went 



i64 BITS OF HISTORY. 

away and joined Washin<^ton'^ oxvay. He 
always remembered good Mrs. Shubrick. 



THE COW AND THE SAILOR. 

DURING the war of 1S12 the British an- 
noyed the Americans a great deal. They 
often seized their ships and burned them with 
all their yaluable cargoes. Besides, they fre- 
quently took the American sailors prisoners, 
carried them awa}' and treated them yery 
cruell3\ 

Once a British ship captured an American 
ship in Cape Cod Bay. The}^ took all the 
sailors prisoners, burned the American ship, 
and sailed away. The name of one of the 
prisoners was Tim. He was a rough £ind ob- 
stinate fellow. He refused to obe}^ the British 
officers. They often gaye him a seyere whip- 
ping, but it did no good. He refused to work, 
and he often persuaded the other prisoners 
to disobey the officers. 

The British officers were tired of Tim. 
They wanted to get rid of him, but they did not 
like to kill him. or to drown him. So they 
thought of a i)lan. They had a large empty 
meat barrel in their ship. They brought it on 
deck. They took the head out of it and put 



BITS OF HISTORY. 163 

Tim into it. They then put the head into the 
barrel again and fastened it np tight. They 
made a hole in the top side of the barrel for 
Tim to get fresh air. They put some food and 
a bottle of water into the barrel, and told him 
through the hole that they were going to throw 
him into the sea. They said that he must keep 
still. If he moved about, the barrel would roll 
over. Then the water would flow into the hole 
and drown him. 

When all was ready, they raised the barrel 
and let it slide down gently into the sea. Then 
the British ship sailed away and left him alone 
in the barrel. 

Tim kept very still. The waves rocked the 
barrel and caused him to feel somewhat dizzy, 
but he was patient The barrel floated on the 
sea for two days. His food and water were all 
gone. At last the wind carried the barrel to 
the shore, Then the tide went out and left it 
on the beach. 

Still Tim could not get out of the barrel. 
He screamed and shouted. He thought that 
somebody would hear him and come to help 
him, but there was nobody near. He was very 
much troubled. He was almost starved, and he 
thought that he would soon die. 

But pretty soon a cow came to the shore. 
There were many sea weeds near the barrel. 



i66 niTS OF HISTORY. 

She went there and began to eat them. She 
was ver}^ fond of them. I^Iany flies and mos- 
quitoes flew about her and bit her. She 
switched her tail about to drive them away. 
B}' and by it fell over the hole in the barrel. 
Tim saw it and pulled it into the hole. He 
grasped it tightly with both h£inds. Then he 
shouted ver}^ loudly. The cow was much 
frightened, she ran towards the pasture very 
fast, and dragged the barrel after her. This 
frightened her much more. She bellowed and 
galloped away over many large stones. The 
barrel struck against the stones, and it was 
broken open. Then Tim let go of the cow's tail. 
He was now free from the barrel. He was 
dizz3^ and his head was covered with bruises, 
but he was very glad to escape, both from the 
barrel and from the British officers. 



ESCAPE OF 
TWO BROTHERS FROM INDIANS. 

MANY 3^ears ago a man, named Mr. John- 
son, lived out West near the Ohio river. 
He had two sons. Their names were George 
and Walter. George was thirteen years old. 
Walter was eleven years old. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 167 

One day George and Walter asked their 
mother if they could go to the bank of the 
river to play. She gave them permission to go. 
They walked a little distance from the house 
towards the river. Suddenly two strong Indians 
sprang upon them and bound their hands and 
feet together. Then they put them on their 
shoulders and carried them away into the 
woods. 

By and by the sun went down, and it began 
to grow dark. The two Indians stopped walk- 
ing. They took George and Walter from their 
shoulders and placed them upon the ground. 
Then they cut the cords from their hands and 
feet. They allowed the two brothers to stand 
up and walk about, but they would not allow 
them to go far away. 

The two Indians made signs to the two 
brothers. They told them to gather sticks 
to make a fire. The boys obeyed and gathered 
a large pile of sticks and kindled a big fire. Then 
they all sat around the fire and ate supper. 

After supper the two Indians lay down on 
the ground and prepared to go to sleep. They 
were afraid that George and Walter would run 
away from them during the night. So one 
Indian made George lie down by his side, and 
he put his arm around him to hold him. The 



i6S BITS OF HISTORY. 

other Indian made Walter lie beside him in the 
same way. 

In the night George awoke. He looked 
about and saw that Walter and the two Indians 
were sound asleep. He crawled out from under 
the Indian's arm, and went to the fire. He ])ut 
some new wood on it and made it burn brightl}'. 
He watched the two Indians. The}' did not 
move. He knew that they were both sound 
asleep. He resolved to call his brother and run 
away from the Indians. 

He walked softly to the place where Walter 
was sleeping. He shook Walter's hand gently. 
Walter opened his e3^es. Then George whis- 
pered in his ear and said, " Come let us go 
home." Walter whispered back to George, " No, 
these Indians will chase and kill us." Then 
George whispered to Walter, "Let's kill them 
then." Walter nodded his head. Then he 
crawled out from under the Indian's arm. The 
two Indians did not stir. They had been walk- 
ing about in the woods all day. They were 
very tired and slept soundly. 

The two Indians had but one gun. It was 
h^iiig on the ground beside them. George 
walked softly to it and took it. It was large 
and heavy. He rested it on a log and placed 
the muzzle near one of the Indian's ears. He 
cocked the gun and told Walter to hold it 



BITS OF HISTORY. i6g 

steadily. Then George found a tomahawk 
beside the other sleeping Indian. He whis- 
pered to Walter and said, "Now, Walter, when 
i strike one Indian with this tomahawk, you 
shoot the other one." Walter nodded his head. 
Quickly George struck his Indian's head, and at 
the same time Walter shot the other Indian in 
his ear. Walter's Indian was killed instantly, 
but George's Indian raised his head and was 
going to get up. Just then George gave him 
several hard blows on his head with the toma- 
hawk. Then the two Indians were both dead. 
The two brothers were glad to escape. When 
it was daylight, they ran towards their home. 
When they arrived near the house, they heard 
their mother crying and saying to herself, " My 
dear boys have been murdered or captured by 
the Indians." Just then George and Walter 
rushed into her arms and said, " No, mother, 
we are not murdered. We are both safe 
and sound." 

CAPTURED BY WOMEN, 

MANY years a ago a man lived in Groton, 
Massachusetts. His name was Mr. David 
Wright. He had a wife and two sons. At the 
time of the battle of Concord he and his two 
sons and all the men of that little town hastened 



IJO 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



to Concord to fight the British and to help save 
the powder and other stores which were at that 
place. 

Mr. Wright's house was situated near the 
Nashua river and not far away there was 
a bridge across it. As soon as the men of the 
town had gone awa3% Mrs. Wright called on her 
next neighbor, whose name was Airs. Job Shat- 
tuck. These two women talked with each other 
for a long time. They decided to watch the 
bridge cind not allow any British soldiers or 
spies to pass over it. 

So the}^ put on their husband's clothes and 
hats. Then the}" took their guns and went to 
the houses of their neighbors and told the other 
women of their plan. Nearly all the women in 
the town agreed to help them. They all put on 
men's clothes and armed themselves with guns, 
swords, pitchforks, etc., and marched to the 
bridge. They chose Mrs. Wright to l)e their 
captain and began to w^atch the bridge. 

Prett}' soon they saw a man coming across 
the bridge on horseback. They did not know 
wdiether he was a British soldier or an American. 
However, as soon as his horse stepped from the 
bridge, Mrs. Captain Wright ordered her com- 
pany of disguised women to arrest him. They 
all obe3"ed and rushed boldly towards him. 
Several of them seized his horse's bridle, while the 



BITS OF HISTORY. lyi 

others aimed their guns at his head or shook 
their pitchforks at him, threatening to kill him, 
if he did not surrender. 

The man was completely deceived. He 
thought that they were men. He was much 
frightened and trembled all over. He told 
them not to shoot him. Then he gave himself 
up and became their prisoner. The women 
made him get down from his horse. Then they 
searched his clothes, and in one of his boots they 
found a package of papers. They examined 
them and found that they were addressed 
General Gage, who was the British commander 
at Boston. 

The name of the man was Captain Leonard 
Whitting, of Hollis, New Hampshire. He was 
a Tory and had traveled from Canada as a spy 
to help the British. The women took him 
to Oliver Prescott, who was the constable of 
Groton. This officer put Captain Whitting into 
prison, and his papers were sent to General 
Prescott, who commanded the Americans near 
Boston. 



TORIES OUTWITTED BY A WOMAN, 



w 



HEN the war of the Revolution began, a 
man, named Rutledge, was governor 



iy2 BITS OF JIISrORY. 

of South Carolina. He took many j^uns, 
casks of powder, and other things and hid them 
in Colonel Thomas's house. He gave Colonel 
Thomas a guard of twenty-five men, and told 
him to w^atch the guns and powder and not to 
allow the Tories to take them. 

One day a large army of Tories marched 
towards Colonel Thomas's house to seize the 
powder. Colonel Thomas saw them coming. 
He perceived that they had many more me^|i 
than he had. He was afraid to fight them. So 
he and his men took some of the powder and 
ran awa}^ from the house. 

Mrs. Thomas, another woman, and two 
3'oung men were brave and refused to leave the 
house. When the Tories came to the door, 
Mrs. Thomas boldly ordered them to go away 
from the house. The}^ refused to do so and 
began to fire their guns at the house. Then 
Mrs. Thomas and her three friends ran up-stairs. 
They opened a window and fired their guns at 
the Tories. Several of them were killed, but 
still they refused to leave the house. Then the 
two men fired their guns continuously from the 
window, while Mrs. Thomas and the other 
woman loaded the empty ones. In this way a 
great many Tories were killed. They thought 
that the house was full of men, because the 
guns were fired so quickl}'. The}" were 



BITS OF HISTORY. lyj 

frightened and ran away, feeling sorry that they 
ever went there. 

By and by Colonel Thomas and his men re- 
turned. They were surprised to learn that all 
the guns and powder were saved, but they felt 
much mortified, because they had not helped to 
save them. When Governor Rutledge heard 
about the bravery of Mrs. Thomas, he gave her 
a handsome reward. 



ELIZABETH ZANE. 

IN the year 1777 the Americans had a fort in 
Virginia. It was named Fort Henry and 
was commanded by Colonel Shepherd. He had 
only a few men and one woman in the fort. 
The name of the woman was Elizabeth Zane. 
One morning in the month of September 
many Indians came softly from the woods. 
They went to the fort and began to fire their 
guns at it. Colonel Shepherd saw that the nurfi- 
ber of the Indians was much greater than that of 
his men, but he bravely defended the fort. From 
sunrise until noon the Indians continued to 
fire at it. It was somewhat broken, but still the 
Americans would not surrender. The}^ con- 
tinued to shoot the Indians through the holes 
in the fort, but at last their powder was nearly 
all gone. 



IJ4 BITS OF HISTORY. 

At noon the Indians stopped lirin.i^. They 
went to the foot of the hill and talked the matter 
over. The\^ decided to make a new attack 
against the fort. 

Meanwhile, Colonel Shepherd was much 
troubled for the safet}^ of his men. He wanted 
to get more powder, and was thinking how he 
might get it. Just then Elizabeth Zane came 
to him. She told him that there was a cask of 
powder in her father's house, which was at a 
few rods from the fort. She said that she would 
be pleased to go and bring it to the fort. At 
first Colonel Shepherd was not willing to send 
her for the powder, because he was afraid that 
the Indians would shoot her. He told her that 
one of the men had better go instead of her. 
Then she told him that he needed the men to 
fight the Indians more than he needed her. She 
said that her life was not worth as much to him 
as the life of one of the men. He thought that 
she was a very brave woman. So he allowed 
her to go. 

He opened the door of the fort, and she ran 
quickly to her father's house. The Indians saw 
her running from the fort, but they did not fire 
their guns at her and seemed not to notice her. 
She got the cavsk of powder, put it under 
her arm and began to run towards the fort. 
When the Indians saw that she was carrj^ng 



BITS OF HISTORY. 775 

powder, they fired a shower of balls at her. 
Some of the balls went whistling past her 
head. Others struck and tore her clothes, but 
she bravely held the cask under her arm 
and reached the fort in safet}^ The men 
in the fort praised her. They said, " You are a 
brave woman." The men now had plent}^ of 
powder. They continued to shoot the Indians, 
and soon drove them away. Thus Fort Henry 
was saved by the bravery of Elizabeth Zane. 



THE ESCAPE OF GOVERNOR GRISWOLD. 

GOVERNOR GRISWOLD was the first 
governor of Connecticut. His home was 
at Blackball near Long Island Sound. There 
are many interesting stories told about him. 

Once, during the War of the Revolution, 
many British ships sailed into the sound. 
W^hile the ships were anchored there, the Brit- 
ish soldiers heard where Governor Griswold's 
house was. They were very anxious to capture 
him. They wanted to put him in prison, 
because he had sent many soldiers to help 
Washington fight against their army. 

So one day a large company of soldiers left 
the British ships. They went to the Governor's 
house and surrounded it, so that there was no 
wa}^ for him to escape. 



iy6 BITS OF HISTORY. 

But the Governor had a thoiij^htful wife. 
She quickly thouj^ht of a plan to save her hus- 
band. In her cellar she had a new meat barrel, 
which was empty at that tinie. So she quickh^ 
led the governor down cellar to the barrel. He 
was a fat man, but she crowded him into the 
barrel. Then she put the head into it, and left 
only the bung-hole for him to get fresh air. 

Just as she had finished hiding him, the 
British soldiers knocked at her door. She 
went calmly to it, and opened it. They asked her 
where the Governor was. She told them that 
the Legislature was in session at Hartford, and 
that she guessed he was there. But they would 
not believe her. They rushed into her house 
and searched all the rooms, but they could not 
find him. 

Then they went into the cellar. They 
looked everywhere. The}^ even moved the bar- 
rel in which the Governor was hiding, but it was 
so heav}" that they sui)posed it was a new 
barrel of salt pork. They could not find the 
Governor and they were very much disap- 
pointed. They left the house and went back 
to their ships. 

Then the Governor's faithful wife went to the 
barrel and helped him out. His limbs were 
stifif and his back ached, because he had been 
staving there so long, but he was very glad to 



BITS OF HISTORY. lyy 

escape. He thanked his good wife many times. 
Then he mounted his horse and galloped away 
to Hartford. 

LITTLE DEBBY 
IN THE SECRET SERVICE. 

DEBBY GREYLOCK was twelve years old. 
She had light curly hair, blue eyes, and a 
smiling face. She was, indeed, a bright and 
winsome little girl. Her mother was dead, and 
her father was an officer in the American army. 
Her home was in Lexington, Massachusetts, 
and from her father's window she saw that first 
battle of the Revolution, when the British shot 
down eight of the Americans, on the lawn of 
the village church. The sight of this battle 
caused her to hate the British and kindled in 
her heart a love for liberty. 

One day, some time after that battle, she 
went up-stairs to her father's library to call him 
to dinner. She found him pacing up and down 
the room. His hands were in his pockets, his 
face looked sad, and he appeared to be thinking 
gravely about something, She ran to him and 
said, "Papa, what is the matter?" He replied 
that he had just written a letter to Captain 
Hardy, who was stationed with the Americans 
five miles down the road towards Boston. He 



jjS 



BITS OF HISTORY. 




BITS OF HISTORY. lyg 

told her that he was trying to think of some 
good person who could take it to him. 

Then she asked him why he did not send 
Zeke, or Pete, who were his servants. He re- 
plied that he did not want to send either of them, 
because he feared that he would be captured by 
the British. If the British captured him and 
found the letter on his person, they would hang 
him as a spy. "Then I can go," she said. He 
smiled and said, "I know that you are a brave 
little girl, but I am afraid that something would 
happen to you." Then he asked her where she 
would hide the letter from the British. She 
thought for a few minutes and then said, 
"Under the lining of my sampler." He was 
much pleased with her bright idea and allowed 
her to go. 

So, early the next morning she took her sam- 
pler and a lunch basket and started off towards 
Boston. Before she left home, she was careful 
to sew her father's letter under the lining of her 
sampler. She had an uncle and an aunt living 
in Boston. Their names were Mr. and Mrs. 
Pepperell. They were Tories, but they loved 
their little niece, and she often went to visit 
them. So Debb3^'s father told her that she 
might spend Sunday at her uncle's house, " But," 
said he, " 3^ou must be very careful to give the 
letter to Captain Hardy. If you meet any 



i8o BITS OF HISTORY. 

British soldiers, and the}^ ask you an}' questions, 
tell them that 3^ou are going to visit your uncle 
and aunt, the Pepperells." 

Debby walked several miles towards Boston. 
It was a pleasant (\3.y. She found many wild 
flowers by the road-side and often stopped to 
pick them. She was having a delightful walk, 
but suddenly she heard a noise like the trotting 
of horses. She looked ahead and saw two 
British oflicers riding on horseback towards her. 
She was a little frightened at first and almost 
decided to run into the woods, but she remem- 
bered her father's advice to keep cool, if any 
danger happened. So she pretended that she 
had not seen them. She sat down among some 
ferns under a large tree. She opened her 
basket and took out her sampler and her lunch. 
First she sewed a little and then she ate some 
of her lunch. She kept very busy sewing and 
eating. 

Just then the British officers rode up to her 
and one of them asked her what she was doing. 
She smiled and told him that she was resting, 
sewing, and eating her dinner. Then he asked 
her where she was going. She replied that she 
was going to Boston to visit her uncle and aunt, 
the Pe])perells. The officer was t'ic(]uainted 
with the Pepperells and knew that they were 
friendl}' to the British. He believed Debby. 



BITS OF HISTORY. i8i 

He started to ride away, and he beckoned to his 
friend to follow him, but the other British officer 
was a little suspicious. He e3^ed Debby closely 
and saw a little leather bag hanging from her 
belt. He asked what it was. She replied, 
smiling, that it contained the silk, thread for 
sewing on her sampler. She opened it and 
showed him the pretty colored threads. Then 
she showed him her pretty ribbons and told 
him that she intended to wear them at church 
to-morrow, for her aunt always took her to 
King's Chapel, when she went there visiting. 

These clever actions of Debby satisfied the 
officer, and so he asked her no more questions. 
He followed the other officer and they both 
rode away. Debby felt very glad that they did 
not find her father's letter, and she hastened on 
towards Boston. In two hours she reached 
the American camp and gave the letter to 
Captain Hardy. Then she walked on towards 
Boston and arrived there before dark. The 
next day she went to church with her aunt. 
She wore her pretty ribbons, and, while she was 
there, she saw the two officers whom she met on 
the road the da}^ before. They also saw her, 
but they did not know that she had given a let- 
ter to Captain Hardy. 



1 83 BITS OF HISTORY. 



STORY OF MAJOR CROGHAN. 



DURING the war of 1812 Major Croghan 
was placed in command of Fort Stephen- 
son. This fort was in Ohio near Lake Erie. 
Croj^han was an American soldier. He was a 
young man onl}" twenty-one years of age, but 
he was brave and courageous. 

General Proctor was a British soldier. One 
day he led a large army of British soldiers and 
Indians towards Fort Stephenson. When he 
was quite near the fort, he sent a letter to 
Major Croghan demanding the surrender of 
the fort at once. If the Americans refused to 
surrender, Proctor would attack the fort. After 
the fort was taken, he would allow his Indians 
to torture and murder all the Americans. 

Major Croghan had onl}^ sixty men and one 
cannon in the fort. He had heard that Proctor 
always treated his prisoners very shamefully. 
He did not want the Americans in his fort to be- 
come his prisoners. Therefore he was deter- 
mined to hold the fort and defend it as long as 
he could. So he answered Proctor's letter, 
thus, "The Americans will not surrender the 



BITS OF HISTORY. iSj 



fort, till the last man is killed. Then there will 
be none of us left for your Indians to murder." 

This defiant answer made Proctor angry. 
He began at once to fire cannon at the fort. 
Major Croghan, 3^ou remember, had only one 
cannon in the fort. He did not want Proctor to 
know it. He wished to deceive him. First he 
fired this cannon from one port-hole of the fort. 
Then he loaded it and fired it from another. He 
fired it at the British from all the port-holes of the 
fort successively. Proctor and the British be- 
lieved that the Americans had as many cannon 
in the fort as there were port-holes. They were 
afraid to approach the fort. They kept at a 
distance from it. 

B}^ and by Major Croghan stopped firing his 
cannon. He put a big load of powder and balls 
into it. The cannon was filled to its muzzle. 
Croghan waited for some minutes. The British 
began to think that the Americans had no more 
powder. They approached the fort, until they 
were only thirty feet from it. Suddenly, Major 
Croghan shouted, " Fire ! " That old cannon 
made a thundering noise. It fairly shook the 
fort. The balls from it struck the solid 
columns of the British and raked them down 
by scores. Meanwhile, the sixty men in the 
fort kept shooting more of the British and 
Indians. 



1 84 BITS OF HISTORY. 

General Proctor was completely deceived. 
He thouj^ht that the fort was full of cannon 
and that the Americans had fired them all at 
once at his arm}^ He saw the ground near him 
covered with the dead, the d3ing, and the 
wounded. These were some of his best soldiers. 
It was enough. He dared not make another at- 
tack on the fort. So he withdrew and left 
Fort Stephenson still in possession of brave 
Major Croghan. 



ARNOLD'S STATAGEM. 

IN the 3"ear 1777 the Americans had a fort in 
New York, where the City of Rome now 
stands. It was named Fort Schuyler. 

While General Burgoyne was fighting 
against General Schuyler at Fort Edward, 
another British officer named St. Leger came 
down fi-oni Canada with a large company of 
Indians and besieged Fort Schu3der. There 
were only a few Americans in the fort, but they 
fought bravely and kept the British and Indians 
back for several weeks. Bv and by their food 
and powder were nearly all gone, and they feared 
that they would have to give up soon and become 
prisoners. They feared that the cruel Indians 
would torture them. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 185 

The Americans who were in the fort felt 
much troubled. They talked and planned 
together for some time. Bj^ and by two of 
them volunteered to go secretly through the 
British lines to Fort Edward and tell General 
Schuyler of their danger and persuade him to 
send an army for their relief at once. The 
names of these men were Willet and Stockwell. 
So one dark and rainy night they went out of 
the fort through a hole under ground. Then 
they crept on their hands and knees through a 
thick swamp, passed the British lines unseen 
and arrived at a river. The}^ crossed the river 
on a log. Then they entered a thick forest. 
The rain kept pouring down, and their clothes 
were soaked with water. 

Prett}^ soon they saw a bright light at a little 
distance awa}^ and heard a dog barking. They 
understood that they were approaching an 
Indian camp. They dared not walk an}^ farther 
for fear that the}^ would make a noise in the 
dark and arouse the Indians. So the}^ crept 
under some bushes and slept there till morning. 
When it was light, they traveled on again. 
They waded along brooks and streams, so that 
the Indians could not follow their tracks. 
After traveling for two days they came to a 
farmer's house. Then the}^ got upon two horses 



1 86 BITS OF HISTORY. 

cind rude rai)idl3' to r^)rt Edw^ird, where the}' 
told the news to General Schuyler. 

General Arnold was ordered to go to Fort 
Schujder wdth an army at once. When he 
arrived near the fort, he heard that St. Leger 
had a great many more men than he had, and 
he knew that he could not conquer them in 
battle. So he thought of a cunning plan to 
frighten them. 

Arnold held in his camp a Tor}' whom he 
had captured for helping the British. The 
name of this man w^as Hon-Yost. He was dull 
and ignorant. So Arnold planned to deceive 
him. He called his officers to sit in council. 
Then he brought Hon-Yost before them, tried 
him and pretended that he was going to hang 
him for helping the British. 

Hon-Yost's mother lived in the neighbor- 
hood. She heard the stor}^ about her son, and 
she believed that it was true. So she went to 
Arnold and begged him to spare her son's life. 
Arnold refused. The mother began to weep. 
Then Arnold said that he would spare her son's 
life, if he would go to St. Leger and tell him that 
the Americans had many more soldiers and were 
much stronger than the British dLXvay. 

Hon-Yost was ver}" glad to escape from 
being hanged. So he ran quickl}' to St. Leger's 
camp. ^\'hen he arrived there, he showed the 



BITS OF HISTORY. 187 

British and Indians several holes in his hat and 
coat, and told them that he had just escaped 
from being killed in a battle against General 
Arnold. He also told them that General 
Arnold's army was very strong and much larger 
than their army. He advised them to leave Fort 
Schuyler at once, or they would all be made 
prisoners. 

General Leger and his Indians believed the 
stor}^ of Hon-Yost, and they all mardied back 
to Canada. Thus the Americans at Fort 
Schu3der were all saved by Arnold's cunning 
stratagem. 

LADY HARRIET ACKLAND. 

IN the year 1777 General Burgoyne came 
down Lake Champlain from Canada with a 
large British and Indian army. Many of the 
British officers brought their wives with them. 
Among the ladies was Mrs. Harriet Ackland. 
She was the wife of Major Francis Ackland. 
She was much devoted to her husband and 
always accompanied him, because she feared 
that he would be wounded, or become sick, and 
she wished to be near him to take care of him. 
In the Battle of Stillwater Major Ackland 
w^as shot in both his legs. He crawled from 
the battle-field to a fence to escape being struck 



/ a;v bi ts of his tor y. 

b}^ the fl3'inj^ balls. While he was lyin.i^ there, 
some American officers found him, took him 
prisoner, and sent him down the Hudson river 
to the American lines. 

Mrs. Ackland was in the British camp at a 
little distance from the battle-tield. When she 
heard about her husband, she became almost 
frantic. Finally she resolved to go to the 
American camp to see her husband and to take 
care of hrm. It was raining hard, but she went 
to General Burg03^ne to get a pass. Then she 
found some men to take her down the river in 
a boat. Her maid-servant and a friend, named 
Mr. Brudenel, went with her. 

It was growing dark, and the rain was pour- 
ing down hard, but Mrs. Ackland loved her hus- 
band and did not mind either the dark or the 
rain. The men rowed the boat down the river. 
They were in danger of being fired upon b}^ the 
American guns, but Mrs. Ackland went boldly 
on. By and by the boat came near the Ameri- 
can lines. The sentinel heard the noise of the 
oars and cried out, "Who goes there?" The 
men in the boat dared not reply for fear of being 
shot, but Mrs. Ackland told him her name and 
begged him to allow her to visit her husband. 

The sentinel could not see her, and he was 
surprised to hear a lady's voice from the river, 
when it was so dark and rain}^ He thought 



BITS OF HISTORY. i8g 

that it was a ghost. So he ran to call another 
sentinel. They came to the place with a lan- 
tern. Then Mrs. Ackland showed them her 
pass, and begged them to allow her to see her 
wounded husband. They pitied her, gave her 
some warm tea and refreshments, and then led 
her to her husband. She was so glad to see him 
that she wept with joy. 



THE BRAVERY OF CAPTAIN RUDOLPH. 

CAPTAIN RUDOLPH was an American 
soldier. He belonged to Lee's Legion. 
He was a small-sized man, but he was very 
brave and zealous. He was, indeed, so watch- 
ful that people said that he always slept with 
one eye open. This may not be true, but Cap- 
tain Rudolph was certainly a wide-awake man. 

At one time the British occupied a post, 
called the Quaker House. This post was near 
Charleston, South Carolina, and it was well 
protected by cannon and men. On the water- 
side the British had a large galley, or flat boat. 
This galley was well armed and manned. In- 
deed, the whole post was so strong that the 
Americans were afraid to attack it. 

But Captain Rudolph felt no fear. He had 
often watched the British galley, and he confi- 



jgo BITS OF HISTORY. 



denth" believed that he could capture or destroy 
her. So he chose sixteen of the bravest and 
most darinj^ men of Lee's Legion, and on one 
very dark night they all started out on their 
most dangerous enterprise. The}^ armed them- 
selves with pistols and sabers. Then they got 
into a boat and rowed with mufiied oars across 
the bay. There was no moon shining. Indeed, 
it was so dark that the British sentinels could 
not see them. Their boat reached the side of 
the galley, and the men Avent right under the 
muzzles of the big British cannon. Suddenly 
Captain Rudolph and his men rushed on board 
the galle}^ with their drawn sabers. The 
British were sur])rised. They had no time to 
defend themselves. So the}^ all surrendered. 
Captain Rudolph took twentA^-six of the British 
prisoners. He handcuffed them and ])ut them 
into his boat. Then he set tire to the British 
galley and rowed awa}^ with his prisoners. The 
burning galley lighted up the bay, and the British 
could now see Rudolph's boat. They fired can- 
non balls at it from their ])Ost, but Rudoljjh 
w^as too far awaA^to get hurt. He hurried with 
his prisoners to Lee's Legion. There every 
one praised him and his men for their daring 
deed. 



BITS OF HISTORY. igi 



DANIEL ABBOTT AND THE SKATES. 



Along, time ago a boy lived in Penacook, 
N. H. His name was Daniel Abbott. He 
was fifteen years old. His father was a farmer 
and kept many cows. Daniel and his brothers 
took turns in driving them to the pasture and 
in watching them, while they were feeding 
there. 

One day it was Daniel's turn to watch them. 
So he took his dinner basket, called Jock, his 
dog, and began to drive them towards the pas- 
ture. While he was walking along the road, he 
overtook another boy about his own age, named 
Nathan Foster. Nathan was his neighbor, and 
he w^as also driving his father's cows to the 
same pasture. The two boys were very glad of 
each other's company, and they hoped to have a 
good time playing together in the pasture. 

All the forenoon they watched the cows and 
played together under the shade of a large tree. 
At noon they ate their dinner from their baskets. 
After dinner they talked with each other and 
decided to go to the brook at the edge of the 
pasture to catch some fish. So they left Jock 



igz 



BITS OF HISTORY. 




!^.^ 
M 







O li 




BITS OF HISTORY. igj 

under the tree to watch the cows, while they 
started off towards the brook. 

After they had fished for some time, they 
heard Jock barking. They almost decided to 
go to the tree to see what was the matter, but 
the fish were biting fast, and they were too busy 
catching them to leave the brook. Pretty soon 
Jock stopped barking, and they thought that all 
was right. So they continued to catch fish. 

The boys did not know that man}^ Indians 
were hiding in the woods near them. Jock had 
barked to call them, but they were careless and 
kept on fishing. Pretty soon the Indians shot 
an arrow at Jock and killed him. Then they 
shot one of the cows and, afterwards, a young 
calf. By and by they went to the brook and 
crept softly among the bushes. The}^ saw the 
boys catching fish. They shot many arrows 
at Nathan and killed him, but they did not 
want to kill Daniel. They decided to take him 
prisoner. So they seized him and carried him 
far away to their camp. 

That evening it began to grow dark, but 
Nathan and Daniel had not arrived at home. 
The cows came into the yard one after another, 
but one cow and a calf were missing. All the 
neighbors began to feel anxious about the two 
boys. They thought that perhaps some Indians 
had attacked them. So they took their lanterns 



ig4 BITS OF HISTORY. 

and went to the pasture. They searched about 
and found Jock's body with the arrow stuck 
into it. Then they found the cow and the calf 
lyin^ dead at a little distance away. The}^ 
continued to search about the place. Prett}^ 
soon the}' found Nathan's body lying near the 
brook with many arrows piercing it. They 
then looked for Daniel for a long time, but 
they could not find him. 

Daniel's father and mother were much 
grieved about their son. They did not know 
whether he was dead or alive. They felt much 
troubled al)out him. But Daniel was not dead. 
The Indians took him far awa^^ to their camp, 
which was on the bank of a large lake. They 
treated him kindly and gave him plenty of 
nice food to eat every da\'. He wore Indian 
clothes and a pair of moccassins on his feet. 
He learned to shoot with the bow and arrow. 
He went fishing and hunting. He was, indeed, 
just like an Indian bo3\ 

Months i)assed on. Summer changed to fall, 
and fall to winter. Still Daniel had not arrived 
home, but he kept planning to escape from the 
Indians. One morning he awoke early and 
found the old Indian chief and several of his 
men absent from the wigwam. He asked the 
old squaws where they had gone. They re])lied 
that they had gone to the white people's village 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



^95 



to murder the people and to plunder their 
things. Then Daniel looked about and planned 
to run away to his home, but the Indians had 
several dogs, and he feared that the}^ would 
chase and bite him. So he patientl}^ remained 
with the Indians. 

At about noon the Indian men returned to 
their camp. The}^ were loaded with things 
which they had stolen from the white people's 
houses. Among the things, which the}^ brought 
to their camp, were several pairs of skates. 
Daniel saw them, and a new thought flashed 
into his mind. He knew that the Indians did 
not know how to skate. So he took the string: 
of skates, called the Indians around him, and 
pointed towards heaven. He told the Indians 
that the skates were a present from the Great 
Spirit. He said that, if people put them on 
their feet, they could fly to the Great Spirit. 
The Indians believed what Daniel said, and 
the}^ looked at the skates in great wonder. 

Then Daniel led the Indians to the lake. He 
picked out the best and sharpest pair of skates 
and put them on his own feet. Then he told sev- 
eral Indian men to sit down and he would teach 
them how to fly. He then put a pair of skates ; 
on the feet of each Indian. When all were 
read}^, he stood up and began to skate about a 
little near the Indians, and he told them to do 



ip6 BITS OF HISTORY. 

the same. They got iij) and tried to follow 
him, but in a minute the}" fell on the ice, 
humping their heads. Daniel persuaded them 
to try again. They did so, but again the}^ 
slipped and fell to the ice. Then Daniel 
shouted, "Come on, come on, follow me. The, 
Great Spirit is calling us. We must now fix tt> 
him." Then he skated rapidl}" from the shore. 
The Indians were astonished. Several of them 
shot their arrows at him, but Daniel was too 
far away to get hurt. He continued to skate. 
By and by he was out of sight. The Indians 
could see him no more. They believed that he 
had flown to the Great Spirit. 

But Daniel soon arrived at the farther side 
of the lake. Then he took ofif his skates and 
walked towards his home. It was Sunday 
evening. Daniel's father had just read the 
Bible and was saying his evening pra3"er. 
Suddenly the family heard a noise on the steps. 
Mrs. Abi)Ott went to the door and saw a boy 
standing on the steps. He was dressed like an 
Indian. She did not know who he was. She 
was a little frightened, but theboysaid, "Mother, 
I am safe. Daniel has come home again." 
Then she clasped him in her arms and kissed 
him many times. His father and brothers did 
the same. They all thanked God for saving 
his life. 



BITS OF HISTORY. igy 



BOLD WOMEN A T BRYANTS STA TION. 



MANY 3^ears ago there were no cities or 
railroads out West. The whole country 
was a great forest. Many Indians lived there, 
and the first settlers were often much troubled 
by their attacks. 

In the 3^ear 1782 a party of white settlers 
went out west. They took their wives and 
children with them. They intended to cut 
down trees, clear the land, and build themselves 
homes. But the Indians came and killed many 
of them. 

Then the settlers went to work and built a 
fort to protect themselves from the Indians. 
This fort was named Bryant's Station. There 
were long poles driven upright into the ground 
all around it. The Indians could not crawl be- 
tween the poles, but the}^ sometimes climbed 
over them. A fence like this around a fort or 
house is called a palisade. 

One day a party of five hundred Indians 
came to attack Bryant's Station. When 
the}^ arrived near the fort, they hid behind 
some thick bushes. There they waited with 



igS BITS OF HISTORY. 

their loaded ;^uns for the settlers to come 
out of the fort. But the settlers were not 
blind. The}^ saw the Indians hidin*^ behind 
the bushes. They knew that they were plan- 
ning to attack them. They talktd with each 
other and decided to stay in the fort till the 
Indians went awa3^ 

But after some time the water in the fort 
was all gone. They were thirsty, and had no 
water to drink or to make tea. They wanted 
to take their pails and go to their spring and 
get some water, but the Indians were hiding in 
the bushes near the spring. They would shoot 
the settlers, if they went to the spring. Then 
the Indians would rush to the fort and take 
them all i)risoners. 

However, the settlers had learned that 
Indians in their attacks always killed the strong 
men first. The}^ knew that the}^ would not 
shoot the women first. So all the women in 
the fort took their pails, and went out of the 
fort to the spring. The}^ did not notice the 
Indians. They pretended that they did not 
know that any Indians were hiding there. They 
filled their pails with water and carried them 
into the fort. The}^ were bold women. 

The Indians were disappointed. They got 
tired of waiting for the men to come out, and 
they gave u]) the attack and went away. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



igg 



JOEL AND HIS SAIL BOAT. 



JOEL JACKSON was fifteen years old. His 
home was on the sea-shore near Stonington, 
Conn. His father was dead, and so Joel had to 
work hard every day to support his mother and 
young brother. 

For some 5^ears Joel saved all his spare 
money, and one summer he bought a sail boat 
with it. He named the boat Sea Foam. It was 
painted white, and it had blue trimming. It 
was, indeed, a handsome boat and would sail 
faster than any other boat on the bay. Joel 
was very proud of it, and every da^^ he sailed 
out on the bay to catch fish to sell. The boys 
of the town often went with him, and they had 
splendid times together. 

One day in the year 1813 Joel and another 
boy went out on the bay to fish as usual. 
Pretty soon a British ship sailed up the bay 
and anchored at a few miles below the town. 
The two boys saw the ship, but they did not 
think that the British would harm them. So 
they continued to catch fish. But in a few 
minutes they saw some men leaving the ship 



200 BITS OF HISTORY. 

in a hoixi and rowing rapidl}' toward them. 
Joel was a little fri<^htened. He knew that the 
British meant to take him and the other boy 
prisoners. So he pulled up his anchor quickh^ 
'hoisted up the sails and began to sail the boat 
towards home, but the wind did not blow hard, 
and so the Sea Foam went slowh\ The British 
came nearer and nearer to them. The boys 
perceived that they would soon be captured. 
The}^ were both good swimmers. So the}' both 
jumped into the bay and swam to the shore. 
Then the British captured the Sea Foam and 
took her to their ship. 

Joel was much grieved at the loss of his boat. 
He had bought her with his own mone3% and it 
made him feel very angry against the British. 
That night he attended his evening school as 
usual. While the scholars were waiting for 
their teacher to come, Joel and his classmates 
began to talk about the capture of the Sea 
Foam. All the boys S3^mpathized with Joel. 
They all felt angry at what the British had 
done, and the}' formed a plan to re-capture the 
boat. 

So, after the school was dismissed, Joel and 
about a dozen of his classmates went silently to 
the wharf. It was very dark and rain was 
falling hard, but they did n(U mind the rain. 
They knew that it would help them, because 



BITS OF HISTORY. 201 

the British sentinels would not watch so closely, 
while it was raining. They took a compass and 
a covered lantern with them. The}^ all got into 
a boat and began to row towards the British 
ship. They chose Joel to be their captain. He 
soon found that the oars made a noise. So he 
wound some rags around them. Then all were 
still. 

The boys rowed on for some time. Joel 
often looked at his compass to see if the boat 
was going in the right direction. Pretty soon 
they saw a light hanging from the British ship. 
They perceived that they were quite near to it, 
and they rowed the boat more carefully. They 
all watched. They could see no sentinels on the 
British ship. It was raining hard, and they 
knew that they had gone into the cabin for a 
few minutes. So the boys continued to row 
towards the ship. Pretty soon they saw the 
Sea Foam and rowed along side of her. Then 
Joel took his knife from his pocket and cut the 
rope. He then fastened it to their boat and they 
drew the Sea Foam towards the shore. 

When they had towed the boat some dis- 
tance away, the boys saw the lights moving 
about on the ship. They perceived that 
the British sentinels had just 'come out of 
the cabin and had missed the Sea Foam. 
The bo3"S felt terribly frightened, but they 



202 BITS OF HISTORY. 

continued to row towards the shore. Pretty 
soon they heard the British fire a cannon from 
the shij), and in a minute a ball struck the 
water a little beyond the boats. The boys were 
more fri<rhtened, and they pulled at the oars 
with all their might. Again and again cannon 
balls struck the water around them, but they 
were not hurt, because it was so dark that the 
British could not aim their guns right. The 
bo3's continued to tow the Sea Foam, and after 
a while they arrived at the wharf with her. 
Then the}^ waived their hats and shouted, 
"Hurrah! Hurrah!" The}" felt ver}^ tired, but 
the}^ had got back the boat and were satisfied. 
The people of Stonington heard the British 
cannon, but they did not know what was the 
matter, until the boys arrived at the wharf with 
the Sea Foam. It was past midnight, but the 
people all flocked to the wharf to praise the 
boys for their great victor}^ 



THE THREE REGICIDES. 

MANY 3^ears ago Charles I was the king of 
England. He was not a good king. He 
quarreled with Parliament and ruled the people 
unjustly. He put many good people to death 
and cast others into prison. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 203 

The people of England became angry at 
Charles. They chose Oliver Cromwell to be 
their leader. He was a brave man, and he 
collected many soldiers and made war against 
the king's soldiers. At last Cromwell gained 
the victory. Then Charles lied to the Isle of 
Wight, but he was soon captured and put into 
prison. He was tried by many judges, who 
decided that he should be beheaded. 

After the death of Charles I, Oliver Crom- 
well became ruler of England. He continued 
ruler for nine years, then he died. 

In the year 1660, Charles II became the king 
of England. He was the son of Charles I. He 
was angry at the judges, because they had put 
his father to death, and determined to capture 
them and put them to death. 

The judges were afraid of Charles II. They 
fled from England and took refuge in other 
countries. Some came to America. Some 
went to Switzerland and to other countries in 
Europe. Three of the judges were named 
Whalley, Goffe, and Dixwell. Whalley was 
Oliver Cromwell's cousin, and Goffe was Whal- 
ley's son-in-law^ These three judges were 
members of the English Parliament. They 
left England and came to Boston for fear 
of Charles II. They lived with a friend in 
Cambridge for six months. By and by they 



204 ^^'^'^^ ^^ HISTORY. 

heard that Charles had sent officers to Boston 
to cai»tiire them. They were afraid to sta}^ in 
Cambrid»^e any longer. So they left that place 
secretly and went to New Haven. 

But the three judges did not feel safe at New 
Haven. The king's officers were searching all 
over the country for them. The king had 
offered them a large sum of money, if they 
would capture the judges. So the officers 
watched for them very carefully. This made 
the judges feel very uneasy, so the}^ soon left 
New Haven and went to Westville, Conn. 
There the\^ worked in a grist mill. They never 
went away from the mill, l)ut slept there at 
night. When the}^ saw an}^ stranger coming 
there, they hid among the bags of meal for fear 
of being arrested. 

One day a kind man named Mr. Sperry 
came to the mill. He told the judges about a 
cave in a mountain at some distance from 
Westville. He said that they could hide in the 
cave, and he would bring them food every day. 
Two of them. Whalley and Goffe, went with Mr. 
Sperry to the mountain, and he showed them 
the cave. Then he went away, and they hid in it. 

Mr. Sperr}^ had a son named Joe. The next 
day he took a basket of food and went with Joe 
to the mountain. He placed the basket on a 
stump near the cave and told Joe to remember 



BITS OF HISTORY. 205 

the stump. After Mr. Sperry and his son had 
gone awa3% the judges came out of the cave 
to the stump. They took the basket of food 
and carried it into the cave. After tliey liad 
eaten up all the food, they placed the basket on 
the stump again. 

On the following day Mr. Sperry sent Joe to 
the mountain alone. Joe took a basket of food 
to the stump and brought back the other basket 
of soiled plates and spoons. This he did every 
da3^ but he never saw the judges. He could 
not understand why his father sent him to the 
stump with food. One day he asked his father 
why he did so. His father became cross at 
once. He told Joe that two wood-cutters worked 
near the mountain, and they came to the stump to 
get the food. Joe was afraid of his father and 
asked him no more questions. 

The two judges lived in the cave for several 
months. One day an Indian came to Westville 
from the mountain. He told the people of the 
town that he had seen ashes and men's old clothes 
near the cave in the mountain. The next day 
after that, Mr. Sperry wrote a note and put it 
into the basket of food. He told the two judges 
about the Indian's story. This frightened the 
judges, and they left the cave in the night and 
walked to Milford, which is ten miles from 
New Haven. 



2o6 BITS OF HISTORY. 

At Milford Whalle}^ and Goffe met another 
kind friend, named Air. Tompkins. He allowed 
them to hide in his cellar. They sta^'ed there 
for two years. During all that time they never 
went out of the cellar for fear of the king's 
officers. 

After two years the}^ decided to go to Had- 
ley, Mass. One day they were walking along 
the road near East Rock a few miles iVom 
New Haven. Suddenl}^ they heard a noise 
of men riding on horseback. They listened 
and heard the men talking. They knew that 
they were the king's officers. The}^ ran as fast 
as they could to Neck Bridge and went under 
it. Still they did not feel safe. So they jump- 
ed into the river and held on to the bridge with 
their hands. Their bodies w^ere all under 
water except their heads. Pretty soon the king's 
officers rode over the bridge, but they did not 
see the judges. In a few minutes they came 
back and crossed the bridge a second time, but 
still they failed to see the judges. As soon as 
the officers went out of sight, the judges left 
the bridge and traveled on to Hadley. 

At Hadley Whally and Goffe met another 
kind friend. His name was Mr. Russell, and 
he was the minister of Hadley. He gave the 
two judges a secret room in his house. Nobody 
knew that the judges wxre hiding in his room. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 207 

Rev. Mr. Russell did not even tell his own 
children about it. 

One day the people of Hadley held a prayer 
meeting in their church. They knew that 
many Indians lived in the woods, so they took 
their guns with them. While the minister 
was preaching, many Indians attacked the 
people in the church. They seized their guns 
and ran out to fight the Indians. They saw 
the Indians hiding around the church. They 
were afraid and began to run from them. 
Just then an old man with a long white beard 
came among the frightened people. This old 
man was dressed in curious clothes, and he 
looked very strange. He shouted to the people 
and told them to be brave. He led them against 
the Indians. He inspired the people with 
courage, and they fought the Indians bravely 
and beat them. As soon as the battle was 
finished the old man disappeared. The people 
never saw him again, and they did not know 
who he was. They believed that he was a spirit, 
sent by God to save them from the Indians. 

But the people were mistaken. The old 
man was Goffe. He had seen the Indians 
attacking the people from the window of his 
secret room in Mr. Russell's house. He pitied 
the people, and he left his room and ran to help 
them. He was an old general, and he had 



2oS BITS OF HISTORY. 

fought in many battles in England. So he led 
the people bravel}^ against the Indians. When 
the Indians were conquered, he went back to 
his secret room. The people of Hadley always 
believed that the old man was a spirit. 

Once an Englishman came to America. He 
was formerly a rich man, but he had lost all his 
money and was now poor. He wanted to get 
money again. So he traveled about from cit}' 
to city, and gave exhibitions of sword-play to 
the people. He handled a sword skilfully. 
One day he came to Hadley and built a stage 
of boards near the street. He walked proudly 
back and forth on it, and challenged an}- man 
to come upon it to have a sham tight with him. 
Many people crowded around the stage, but 
none of them knew how to tight with the sword. 
They were all afraid and did not dare to get 
upon the stage. Then the Englishman shouted 
louder and waited still longer for some one to 
come to fight with him. 

Prett}^ soon an old man walked through the 
crowd of people. He carried a mo]) in his right 
hand and a cheese in his left hand. He wore 
old ragged clothes and looked like a tram]). 
He put the mop into some muddy water near 
the stage. All the people gazed at him and 
wondered what he was going to do. When the 
mop was well soaked with the dirty water, he got 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



20g 



upon the stage and told the Englishman that 
he was ready to have a sham fight with him. 
The Englishman stared at the old man. He 
thought that he was not worth fighting. He 
told him to go away, but the old man refused 
to leave the stage. Then the Englishman 
became angry, and told the old man that he 
would hurt him with his sword, if he did not go 
away. Then he would be sorr}^ Still the old 
man stood upon the stage holding his cheese 
and mop ready to fight. Then the Englishman 
flourished his sword. He meant to hurt the old 
man, but he thrust his sword into the cheese, 
which the old man moved about in front of 
him. He could not pull the sword out of the 
cheese. Meanwhile, the old man washed the 
Englishman's face with his dirty mop. The 
Englishman was very angry at this, but the 
old man continued to wash his face with the 
mop. After some time the Englishman suc- 
ceeded in pulling the sword from the cheese. 
Then he began to fight the old man again. He 
flourished his sword and struck at him, but the 
old man fenced the sword with his mop. They 
fought in this way for some time. By and by 
the old man hit the sword a hard blow with his 
mop. The sword flew out of the Englishman's 
hand into the air, and the crowd of people 
shouted and waved their hats. 



2IO BITS OF HISTORY. 

The old man had won the sham fij^ht. The 
En<^lishman was an expert sword-ti<^hter and 
had never been beaten before, He felt siir- 
l)rised and ashamed that such an old man could 
be£it him. He exclaimed, "Satan, or William 
Gotfe ! If 3'ou are not Satan, you are William 
Goffe, I certainl}^ know." This old man was the 
same William Goffe. He was very expert in 
sword-tightin^. Many years ago in England, 
he had taught many 3^oung men how to light 
with the sword. When the Englishman was a 
little boy, Gofte had taught him how to use the 
sword. Thus the Englishman was surprised to 
meet his old teacher. He did not know who he 
was, until he had been beaten. 

Gotfe and Whalle}^ lived in Hadle}^ for 
fifteen A^ears. Then they died and were buried 
in that town, but Dixwell's grave is in New 
Haven. 



BETTY AND THE BRITISH SHIPS. 

DURING the 3^ear 1812 a man was living 
near New London, Conn. His name was 
Mr. Lathn^]). He was a farmer, and his house 
was situated on a hill b}^ the sea. He had a 
daughter twelve A^ears of age. Her name was 
Bett3\ She had light curl 3" hair and blue e3'es, 
and she was a bright, winsome, little girl. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 211 

One Sunday morning Mr. and Mrs. Lathrop 
went to church. Betty usually went there w^ith 
her parents, but on this Sunday she had to stay 
at home to watch and feed a sick lamb. 

She was somewhat lonesome at home alone, 
so she got some picture books and amused her- 
self looking at the pictures. Pretty soon she 
left her books and went into the wood-shed to 
see her lamb. It was fast asleep, so she did 
not disturb it. She thought that she would go 
into the garden for a few minutes. There 
were many pretty flowers growing there, and she 
loved to look at them, but she was not allowed 
to pick any of them. 

By and by she left the garden and went into 
her father's orchard. There was an old apple 
tree near the beach. She had often climbed 
into its branches. She loved to sit there and 
look at the ships sailing about on the sea. So 
she climbed up the old tree and took a seat on 
one of the big limbs. She sat there quietly for 
some minutes, looking out at the beautiful blue 
sea. Pretty soon she saw three small objects 
far away on the water. She watched them 
and they grew larger and larger. She perceived 
that they were ships. 

But the ships were not like those which she 
had often seen out there. She remembered 
what her father had said about the war, and 



212 BITS OF HISTORY. 

she knew that they were British ships. So she 
got down from the tree and ran home as fast as 
she could. She then went to the closet and got 
her father's telescope. She looked through it 
at the ships, ^nd she could see many men walk- 
ing about on the decks. They wore scarlet uni- 
forms, and along the sides of the ship she could 
see many cannon. She said to herself, "The}^ 
are certainly British ships, and the soldiers are 
coming to burn and destro}^ our town." 

Betty was much excited. She wished to 
save the town. She thought for a few minutes. 
Finalh' she resolved to run to the church and 
arouse the people. The church was about a 
mile distant from her house by the road, but 
she knew of a shorter wa}' across a pasture. So 
she went that way and soon arrived at the 
church. She opened the door and went inside. 
She had no hat on her head and her hair was 
hanging down over her shoulders. The people 
all gazed at her, but she did not notice them. 
She saw deacon Jones sitting on a back seat. 
She went to him, whispered in his ear and told 
him about the British ships. 

Mr. Jones arose and beckoned for the min- 
ister to stop preaching. Then he told all the 
people about the British ships, and the minister 
dismissed the meeting. Then all the men ran 
quickly to their homes and got their guns. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 213 

They also yoked up their oxen, and they drew 
the big cannon to the shore. When the men 
arrived on the shore, the British were rowing 
their boats towards the town. Pretty soon 
they saw the cannon and the armed men on 
the shore. They were surprised. Tlie}^ thought 
that all the people were at church. They were 
afraid to land. So they turned their boats and 
went back to their ships. Then they pulled up 
their anchors and sailed away. 

The people of that little town felt very glad. 
They knew that the British meant to burn their 
houses, and they felt very grateful to Betty for 
saving them. 



CAPTAIN NATHAN HALE'S BOYHOOD. 

NATHAN HALE was born in Coventry, 
Connecticut, June 6, 1755. He had eight 
brothers and three sisters. Nathan was the 
sixth of those twelve children. His father 
was a farmer. He was a good man and a sin- 
cere Christian. 

Nathan was a good bo3^ but sometimes he 
was mischievous, like all boys. He was fond of 
playing games with his brothers and sisters. 
He had a morris-board and loved to play on 
it with them, but their father forbade them to 



.214. ^^^^ OP HISTORY. 

use it, because he feared that it would lead them 
into bad habits. Sometimes Nathan and his 
brothers and sisters disobeyed their father and 
played on the board. Then he set a strict 
watch over them. In the evening he would al- 
low only one candle to burn in the house, for 
fear that the}^ would go secretly into another 
room and play morris. 

One evening their father sat in a chair 
reading a paper and holding the candle in his 
left hand. Prett}" soon he fell fast asleep. The 
paper fell from his hand upon the floor, but he 
held on to the candle. Nathan and two of his 
brothers were in the same room with their 
father. The}' saw him sleeping, and they wanted 
to play a game on the morris-board, but they 
did not dare to touch the candle, for fear he 
might awake. So they softly moved their 
chairs around the candle, beside their father, 
and began to play on the board. Sometimes he 
moved a little in his sleep. Then they quickly 
hid the board behind their chairs. They plaj^ed 
together in this way for a long time. They had a 
good time, but their father did not know about it. 

Nathan went to the village school every 
day. He was a good pupil and learned his les- 
sons well. Out of school he was fond of sports 
like all boys. He often went gunning and 
fishing. He was also fond of running, and 



BITS OF HISTORY. 215 

leaping, and wrestling, and playing ball. This 
was good exercise for him. It made him strong 
and healtli}^ 

HALE BECOMES A SOLDIER 
AND CAPTURES A BRITISH SLOOP. 

WHEN Nathan Hale was sixteen years old, 
he went to New Haven and became a 
student in Yale College. There he studied 
diligently and was loved and honored by both 
students and professors. After graduating from 
college, he became a teacher of a school, first, 
at East Haddam, then at New London, Conn. 
He was a fine teacher, and his pupils were much 
attached to him. 

When Nathan Hale heard about the battles 
of Lexington and Concord, he felt that it was 
his duty to defend his country. So he gave up 
teaching and became a soldier in the American 
army. He first went to Boston and helped to 
keep the British besieged in that city. By and 
by he was sent to New York and was made a 
captain of a company of soldiers. 

One day, while he was in New York, he saw 
a British sloop at anchor in East river. She 
was loaded with food, clothing, powder, guns, 
and other stores, for the British soldiers. Hale 
thought the matter over carefully, and finally 



2i6 BITS OF HISTORY. 

he decided to tr}^ to capture her. So he picked 
out several stron<^ and brave men from his 
arm}^ to accompan}^ him. 

At night he and his men got into a boat and 
rowed quietly over the river to the farther side. 
Then they followed the shore until they 
arrived at a small cape. There they stopped 
and waited for the moon to go down. From 
their hiding-place the}^ could plainly see the 
British sloop. She was anchored beside a large 
British gun-boat named the Asia. Hale saw 
that it was hazardous to tr}^ to capture the sloop, 
but he was determined not to give u]). 

When the moon had set, it was pitch dark. 
Then Hale and his men rowed softly towards 
the sloop. They passed right under the big 
guns of the British ship. Prett}^ soon they ar- 
rived beside the sloop. Then they quickly 
boarded her, pulled up the anchor, hoisted up 
the sails, and sailed away with her towards 
New York City. As the}^ approached the 
wharf. Hale pulled down the British flag from 
the top-mast, and put up the American colors 
instead. Man}^ people assembled on the wharf, 
and they all cheered Hale and his men for 
their hvaiVQry. 

Hale took the food, clothing, powder, and 
other things from the sloop and distributed them 
among the American soldiers. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



217 



HALE CAPTURED 
AND HANGED BY THE BRITISH. 



IN August, 1776 the Americans were badly 
beaten in a battle on Long Island. Then 
they retreated first to New York, and after- 
wards to White Plains. 

While Washington was in New York, he 
was very anxious to know what were the plans 
of the British army. He wished somebody to 
go secretly to the British camp, at Long Island, 
and find out how many soldiers, how many 
forts, and ships, and cannon General Howe had, 
and what he meant to do next. 

No one in the American army was willing 
to go to the British camp as a spy. Indeed, 
they all refused to go, because they feared that 
they would be caught and hanged by the 
British. Finally, young and handsome Nathan 
Hale came forward, and said, "I am willing to 
go; if, by doing so, I can help my country." 

Washington was much pleased with Hale's 
bravery. He called him aside and privately 
advised him about many things. He wished 
him to be careful about his life. He wished him 



2i8 BITS OF HISTORY. 

to search the British camp diligentl}^ and to 
brin<r back to him all the news. After parting 
with Washington, Hale took ofif his military 
uniform and dressed himself like a school- 
master. Then he put a broad brimmed hat 
upon his head and set out on his perilous 
journe3\ 

He first tried to cross over to Long Island 
from Harlem, but there were many British 
ships at anchor in East river. So he followed 
the shore farther eastward, until he arrived at 
Norwalk, Connecticut. Here he found an 
American sloop, and he immediatel}^ engaged a 
company of men to carry him across the sound. 

The sloop sailed in the darkness of the night 
and arrived at Huntington Bay before day- 
light. Then some of the men carried Hale in 
a small boat to the Long Island shore. He 
then went secretly to the British camp. He 
drew correct pictures of the British forts. He 
found out the number of their ships, cannon, 
and men. He met and talked with the British 
officers and soldiers. He learned man}- things 
from them, but they did not arrest him, because 
they thought that he was a school-master. He 
also crossed over to New York and visited the 
British works there. He studied and drew 
maps of everything. He kept his maps hidden 
in his boots. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



2ig 



After a Avhile he started to return to the 
American camp and again crossed the East river 
to Long Island. Then he traveled through the 
woods for several days and finally arrived at 
Huntington Bay. There he hid behind some 
bushes and waited for his friends to take him 
to the Connecticut shore. Pretty soon he saw 
some men rowing a boat towards him. He 
thought that they were Americans. He was a 
little careless. He left his hiding-place and 
ran to the shore to meet them. Then he saw 
that the men were British. He was surprised. 
He almost started to run from them into the 
woods, but they all aimed their guns at him 
and ordered him to surrender or they would 
shoot him. Hale saw that it was too late to 
escape, so he gave himself up, and. they took 
him to their ship. The men did not kiiow who 
he was, but they searched his clothes. Finally, 
they took off his boots and found his papers 
hidden in them. Then they understood that 
he was an American spy. So they took him to 
New York and delivered him into the hands of 
General Howe. 

Hale was tried before General Howe and his 
officers. During the trial he was truthful and 
manly. He could not tell them a lie. He con- 
fessed ever3^thing. He told them that he was 
an American officer and had visited the Brit- 



220 BITS OF HISTORY. 

ish camp as a spy. He did not not feel sorry or 
ashamed for what he had done, l)ecause he had 
been working for the good of his country. 

General Howe and his officers admired 
Hale's frankness and braver3% but the}" decided 
that he should be hanged on the next (Xay. So 
they delivered him into the hands of their Pro- 
vost Marshal named William Cunningham. 
This man was noted for his cruelty to the 
American prisoners, and he immediately sent 
Hale to prison. 

During the evening Hale wrote a letter to his 
parents and friends. He desired to send them 
a few words of comfort and consolation before he 
died. When he had finished wanting the letter, 
he gave it to Cunningham and asked him to 
mail it for him, ])ut he was cross. He snatched 
the letter from Hale's hand and tore it into 
many pieces. Then Hale asked him for a Bible 
that he might read a few verses from it before 
he died, but Cunningham became more cross. 
He stamped his foot upon the lloor and said. 
" You are a spy. You shall have no Bible to 
read." 

The next morning was Sunday. The sun 
had just risen, when Hale was led from the 
prison to an apple tree by Cunningham and his 
guards. His face was calm and dignified. He 
was not afraid to die. He trusted in God. He 



BITS OF HISTORY. 221 

was asked if he had anything to say before he 
died. He promptly replied, '' I only regret that 
I have but one life to lose for my country ^ Then 
he was hanged to the tree, and he died like a 
brave man. 

All the Americans were sorry, when they 
heard of Hale's death. Washington cried. We 
still admire his bravery. The people of Con- 
necticut have placed a beautiful bronze statue 
in the Capitol, at Hartford, in his honor. 



THE TWO LOST PILGRIMS. 

THE Mayflower was the ship which brought 
the Pilgrims from England to America. 
It arrived at New Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 
December, 1620. The Pilgrims left their ship 
and went on shore. They began immediately 
to build huts to protect their wives and children 
from the cold. 

One day several of the men went away into 
the woods to gather boughs for covering the 
roofs of their huts. They had two dogs with 
them. The men worked diligently for some 
time and gathered a large pile of boughs. By 
and by the}^ noticed that two of the men and 
the two dogs were missing. They hallooed and 
shouted and looked about the woods for them 



222 BI TS OF HIS TOR Y. 

for a longtime, but Ihe}^ could not find them. 
So they j^ave up searching and went back to 
the settlement. Arriving there, they told the 
other Pi]<^rims about the lost men. 

Then a larji^e company of the Pil<^rims took 
their <:^uns and went into the woods to search 
for the men. The}' traveled about until dark, 
but failed to find them. They thoujj^ht that 
perhaps some Indians had captured them and 
carried them awa}^ to their wijj^wams. So the}" 
returned to the settlement without them. 

But it was a mistake. The two men were 
not captured. The}' wished t(^ explore the 
country. So they left the other men with- 
out their knowing it and wandered away with 
the two dogs. Pretty soon they found a small 
lake, and on its shore they saw a deer. Im- 
mediately the dogs chased it, and the two men 
followed them. They ran about the woods for 
a long time. By and by they becc-mit- tired and 
started to go back to the settlement, but they 
went the wrong way and got lost. All that 
afternoon they wandered about the woods, 
but still they failed to find the way. It began 
to grow dark. They were tired, cold, and 
hungry, and there was no good place for them to 
sleep. So they lay down under some bushes. 

In the middle of the night they were awak- 
ened by the barking of their dogs. They lis- 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



223 



tened and heard a loud roaring noise. They 
supposed that there were man}^ lions in the 
woods, and they became much frightened. They 
ran to a tree and climbed up into its branches. 
But they were mistaken. There are no wild 
lions in this country. It was the roaring of the 
wind among the trees, which they heard. They 
stayed in the tree till morning. When they 
came down from the tree, they found that their 
feet were frozen. 

Still they did not give up, but kept on 
looking about to find the way. After some 
time they found a hill covered with trees. One 
of them climbed up a tall tree, and from its top 
he saw the Mayflower anchored in the ba}^ 
They went immediately in that direction, but 
they were so hungr3^ and their feet were so sore 
that they soon had to stop. Then they shouted 
and hallooed. The other Pilgrims heard them 
and brought them back to the settlement. They 
were very glad to escape. 



INDIANS OUTWITTED BY PURITANS. 

AT another time a company of the Puritans 
went away from New Plymouth to explore 
the country. While the}^ were walking through 
the woods, they met many Indians. 



224 ^'^TS OF Ills TOR ] \ 

These Indians seemed to l)e ^lad to see the 
Puritans. They talked kindly to them, gave 
them corn, and showed them the way about the 
country. Hut the Puritans noticed that they 
acted strangely. They began to suspect that 
they were not honest and meant to do them 
some harm. 

When it began to grow dark, the Puritans 
built a small hut, and in front of it they kindled 
a large tire. They meant to sleep in the hut 
with their feet b}' the tire, but they feared that 
the Indians would come to attack them during 
the night. The}^ talked together and arranged 
the following plan to deceive the Indians, if 
they should come to attack them : 

They got several small logs and wra])ped 
their l)lankets around them. Then they placed 
the logs side by side on the lloor in the hut. 
These logs looked like persons sleeping with 
their feet towards the fire. When all was 
ready, the Puritans took their guns and hid be- 
hind some bushes at a little distance from the 
hut, and there they watched ver}^ carefully. 

In the middle of the night the Puritans saw 
one Indian creeping on his hands and knees 
towards the hut. He peeped over some bushes. 
He saw the logs lying on the floor in the hut. 
and he thought that thev were the Puritans. 
He went awav, and in a short time he returned 



BITS OF HISTORY. $25 

with several other Indians. The}^ all carried 
loaded guns and had long knives in their belts. 
They crept softly on their hands and knees 
towards the hut, and kept peeping through the 
bushes at the logs. Suddenly they all fired their 
guns at the logs. Then they gave a loud 5^ell, 
and ran towards the hut with their drawn 
knives. 

Just then the Puritans rushed out from their 
hiding-place and poured a shower of bullets 
upon them. The Indians became para^^zed. 
Their guns were empty, and the)^ did not know 
what to do. Again the Puritans loaded their 
guns and kept on shooting the Indians, until 
they killed every one of them. 

They felt very thankful for their escape. 
They knew that the}^ all would have been killed, 
if they had slept in the hut. 



R UTH'S BRA VER V. 

ALONG time ago, before the French and 
Indian War, a man lived in Machias, 
Maine. He was a miller. The farmers in his 
neighborhood took their corn and wheat to his 
mill, and he ground the grain to meal, or flour. 
His wife was dead, so he was left a widower, 
but he had a daughter fourteen 3^ears old and 



226 BITS OF HISTORY. 

a little son three years old. His daughter's 
name Wtis Ruth. She kept house for her father 
and took care of her little brother. Her father 
did not own a house, but he lived in rooms over 
the mill. 

One day the miller was idle. There was no 
grain for him to grind, and he was tired of sta}"- 
ing at the mill so much of the time. So he 
thought that he would go to the coimtr}^ to visit 
some friends. He left Ruth and her little 
brother at home alone. 

When it was nearly noon, Ruth was sitting 
bv her window knitting a pair of stockings for 
her father. Her little brother was sitting on 
the floor pla34ng with some blocks. Suddenly 
she heard a noise down-stairs in the mill. She 
was a little frightened, but she left her work 
and went boldly down-stairs to see what it was. 
When she got down there, she saw an Indian 
in the mill. She ran up-stairs quickh^ took her 
little brother in her arms, and they hid in a 
closet under the attic stairs. 

The Indian saw Ruth and chased her, but he 
lost sight of her as she ran up-stairs. He 
searched about the rooms for her for a few 
minutes, but he could not find her. Then he 
went up the other stairs into the attic. Ruth 
heard him walking on the stairs, and she re- 
membered that there was a trap-door leading to 



BITS OF HISTORY. 227 

the attic. So she left the closet and walked 
softly to it. She took away the stick and let the 
door drop. Then she fastened it with the iron 
hooks. 

The Indian was shut up in the attic, and 
there was no place for him to get out. He be- 
gan to shout and scream. Ruth understood 
that he was calling for other Indians to come to 
help him. So she ran down into the mill and 
fastened the door and windows. Then she went 
up-stairs to see where her little brother was. 
She found him in the same closet playing quietly 
with a pair of old shoes. 

Pretty soon Ruth looked out of the window 
and saw another Indian coming from the woods 
towards the mill. He had heard the cries of 
the Indian in the attic and wanted to help him. 
First he tried to open the door of the mill, but 
it was fastened. Then he tried to open the 
windows. Finally he went down to the water- 
wheel. He got down on his hands and knees 
and meant to crawl under the wheel into the 
mill. Quickly Ruth ran to the water-gate. She 
pulled down the handle and the mill began to 
go. She knew how to do this, because she had 
often seen her father do it. 

While the Indian was crawling under the 
wheel, the water burst suddenl}^ upon him. It 
set the big wheel going, and he was crushed to 



228 BITS Of HISTORY. 

— ♦- 

death. Iviith was very glad to escape, but all 
that afternoon the Indian in the attic kept on 
hallooin.i^ and screaming. She feared that other 
Indians would come to the mill to help him. 
She w^atched and waited patiently for her 
father to come. At about five o'clock she saw 
him coming, and she was overjoyed. She ran out 
to meet him and told him what had hai)pened. 

Her father ran and called several of his neigh- 
bors. The}^ came to the mill with their guns. 
They captured the Indian, took him away, and 
sold him as a slave to the West Indies. 

All the people admired Ruth's bravery and 
praised her for saving the life of her little 
brother. 

THE LIBER TV TREE. 

IN the 3'ear 1765 the English Parliament 
made a new law called the Stamp Act. Then 
George the Third chose a man named Mr. 
Oliver to sell the stamps to the Americans, in 
Boston. So Mr. Oliver built a small office on 
State street, and prepared to sell the stamps. 
This made the American people feel very in- 
dignant against him. 

There was a large, spreading elm tree, where 
Boylston market now stands. The Americans 
often met under this tree and talked together 



BITS OF HISTORY 



22g 



about Mr. Oliver, the Stamp Act, and other 
things. By and by the tree was named the 
Liberty Tree. 

One evening several Americans met to- 
gether there and had a private talk. Then 
they went secretly to a house and made a large 
effig}^ This effigy was an image of Mr. Oliver, 
the stamp officer. They dressed it up and put 
a hat upon its head. Then they took it to the 
Liberty Tree and hung it up on one of the 
branches. 

The next morning a large crowd of people 
came together under the tree. The}^ pointed 
at the effig}^ and said, ''There is Mr. Oliver, the 
stamp officer." Then they all mocked and 
laughed at it, and some of them threw sticks 
and stones at it. 

When Mr. Oliver heard about the effigy, it 
made him feel very angry. He reported the 
matter to Justice Hutchinson. The justice 
picked out several officers and went to the tree 
with them. He ordered the people to take the 
effigy down from the tree, but they refused to 
obey him. Meanwhile, the crowd of people 
grew larger and larger, and they threatened to 
shoot the officers, if they touched the effig}^ 
Justice Hutchinson and his officers were afraid 
of so many people and went away. So the 
effigy remained in the tree all day. 



2J0 BITS OF HISTORY. 

In the evening the people took it down from 
the tree and marched with it on their shoulders 
to State street. When they arrived in front of 
Mr. Oliver's office, they shouted and made a 
great noise. Then they broke open the doors 
and windows of his office w4th stones and de- 
stroyed the whole building. 

Again they took the effigy on their shoulders 
and marched to Fort Hill. They made a large 
fire in front of Mr. Oliver's house, and' there 
they burned it. Then they attacked Mr. 
Oliver's house. They broke open the doors and 
windows and destro^^ed his nice furniture, but 
Mr. Oliver ran out of the back door and escaped. 

Mr. Oliver was very much frightened. The 
next day he sent a letter to the people telling 
them that he was sorry for what he had done. 
He promised them that he would resign his 
office and would never again sell stamps for the 
king. But this letter did not satisfy the people. 
They compelled him to come to the Liberty 
Tree, and there they made him publiclv declare 
that he was no longer King George's friend, and 
would sell no more stamps for him. Then the 
people forgave him, and he became their friend. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 231 



THE OLD DRAW-BRIDGE. 



AT the time of the Revolutionary War 
George tlie Third was the king of England. 
He sent General Gage to Boston with many 
British soldiers to make the Americans obedient 
and to compel them to pay him taxes. 

While General Gage was at Boston, he heard 
that the Americans had some powder, cannon, 
and guns, stored at Salem. He was anxious to 
seize and destroy them, so that the Americans 
could not fight against his soldiers, So he or- 
dered Colonel Leslie to go to Salem with a com- 
pany of British soldiers to seize the powder and 
other stores. 

Colonel Leslie wished to send his soldiers by 
land to Salem, but he feared that the Americans 
would hear of his coming and would carry the 
powder away and hide it before he arrived there. 
So he sent the soldiers in a ship. The ship ar- 
rived at Marblehead. Then the soldiers went 
on shore and marched to Salem. 

When the British soldiers arrived at Salem, 
they found no powder there. A few days be- 



232 BITS OF HISTORY. 

fore the x\mericans had carried it lo another 
place named Danvers. So the British left 
Salem and marched towards Danvers. B}^ and 
bv the}^ arrived at a bridge, which crossed a 
small cove. In the middle of this brid^^e there 
was a draw, or gate. This draw could l)e 
opened to allow ships to pass in and out of the 
cove. Then it could be closed again, so that 
teams could pass over it. 

The Americans heard that the British were 
coming to cross the bridge. So they ran to it 
and opened the draw. Pretty soon the British 
began to march across the bridge, A\dien the}^ 
arrived cit the draw, they found it open, so they 
could go no farther. Colonel Leslie shouted to 
the Americans, who were on the other side, to 
shut the draw, so that his soldiers could pass 
over it, but the Americans refused to obey him. 

Just then Colonel Leslie saw several row 
boats on the shore near the bridge. -He ordered 
a few of his nnen to take the boats, cross the 
cove and shut the draw. Immediateh^ several 
Americans, who were on that side of the cove, 
ran to the boats and split them open with their 
axes. This prevented the British from crossing 
to the other side. 

Colonel Leslie again ordered the Americans 
to close the draw, but still they refused to obey 
him. It was then Sunda\', and the people were 



BITS OF HISTORY. 233 

returning home from church. When they 
heard the news, they all crowded to the bridge. 
Many of them took their guns with them, so 
that Colonel Leslie began to be afraid. Still, he 
was too proud to order his soldiers to turn 
around and march back. So he promised the 
Americans that he would not touch their powder, 
if they would only shut the draw and allow him 
and his soldiers to pass over it. 

The Americans agreed to the plan. They 
quickly closed the draw and allowed the British 
to pass over it. After crossing the bridge, the 
British turned around and marched back to 
their ship, feeling much mortified. Then the 
Americans shouted and waved their hats. 
Their powder was saved, and they felt happy. 



STORY OF LYDIA DARK AH. 

WILLIAM DARRAH was a Quaker, who 
lived in the city of Philadelphia. He 
had a wife and several children. His wife's 
name was Lydia. William and Lydia Darrah 
hated the British. They were true friends of 
Washington and the Americans. 

In the fall of the year 1777 General Howe 
came with many British soldiers and took the 
beautiful city of Philadelphia from the Ameri- 



2J4 BITS OF HISTORY. 

cans. While the British soldiers remained 
there, the}' were often rude and cruel to the 
Americans. Sometimes they ate their meals 
and slept in the houses of the Americans. 
Then they went away and did not pay for their 
board. This was very mean. They were like 
robbers. 

General Howe sta3'ed at the house of William 
Darrah, and many British othcers often called 
there to talk with him. One afternoon the 
General called Lydia to his room and said 
to her, " Madam, man}^ of my friends are com- 
ing to see me this evening. This lower room is 
not large enough for them all to meet in. I wish 
you would prepare 3^our large upper room for 
me. Besides, I want every member of 3^our 
family to go to bed before eight o'clock." 

Lydia went up to her large room and made 
ever3'thing ready. While she was doing the 
work about the room, she wondered to herself 
why General Howe should order all of her 
family to go to bed so earh^ She suspected that 
something wrong was going to happen, and she 
was very anxious to find out the secret. 

When evening arrived, L3^dia put her chil- 
dren to bed earl3^ Mr. Darrah also went to bed, 
but L3'dia waited for the British General and 
his friends to come. At about eight o'clock 
they all come to the front door. L3'dia un- 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



235 



locked it and showed them up to her large 
room. Then she locked the door again and put 
the key into her pocket. While General Howe 
was going up-stairs, he turned to L^^dia and 
said, " Now, L^^dia, we shall not need your ser- 
vice any more. Go to your room and be sure 
to go to sleep." Lydia nodded her head. She 
went to her room, locked the door, and lay on 
the bed, but she did not take off her clothes. 
She tried to go to sleep, but she could not. She 
felt very restless, because her mind was full of 
thoughts about that secret meeting of the 
British officers in her upper room. She could 
hear them talking, but she could not understand 
what they were talking about. She resolved to 
find out. 

She got up from her bed, left her room in her 
stocking feet, and walked softly up-stairs. She 
went to the door of her large room, put her ear 
to the ke3Miole, and listened. She heard the 
British officers talking. They were planning 
to attack Washington and the Americans at 
Whitemarsh, the next night. Lydia had heard 
enough. She left the door and stole softly 
down-stairs to her room again. She locked 
the door and lay down, but she could not sleep. 

At about ten o'clock she heard the British 
officers coming down-stairs. Prettj^ soon she 
heard a loud knock on her door, but she did not 



2j6 BI TS OF HIS TOR V. 

move. She pretended to be asleep. Again she 
heard a still louder knock, but she feigned to be 
slee])ing still sounder. Presently she heard a 
heav}" kick against the door. She got up 
quickly and went to the door. She saw General 
Howe waiting for her. She rubbed her e3'es, 
pretending that she had been slee])ing very 
soundly. General Howe told her that he wanted 
the key to the front door, so that all could go out 
to their homes. 

That night L3^dia Darrah slept ver}^ little. 
She was ver}^ uneas3^ and kept thinking of 
Washington and the Americans. She wanted 
to go and tell them the news which she had 
heard. But how could she get to Washington's 
camp ? The British soldiers were stationed all 
around Philadelphia, and the}^ would not allow 
anybody to pass their lines without a passport 
from General Howe. Her mind was very much 
troubled. She knelt down by her bed, and 
asked God to show her how to save Washington 
and his cirmy. Then she went to bed again and 
took a short nap. 

The next morning Lydia got up early. She 
awoke her husband, and told him that she must 
go to Frankford to get a bag of flour. Then 
she took a bag under her arm, hastened out of 
the house, and mounted her husband's horse. 
The distance to Frankford was five miles. The 



BITS OF HISTORY. 237 

snow was knee deep, and the weather was cold, 
but she was a brave woman. After some time 
she arrived at General Howe's office. She 
showed him her bag and said that her flour was 
all gone, and she must go to Frankford to get a 
bag of it. General Howe wrote a passport and 
handed it to her. She took it, thanked him, and 
went away. 

When she arrived outside of the cit}', she 
met the British sentinels. They cried out to 
her, "Who goes there?" She showed them 
her passport. They looked at it and said, " All 
right. Pass on." Then with a light heart she 
hastened to Frankford. When she arrived 
there, she gave her bag to the miller and told 
him that she would be back in a short time. 
Then she rode as fast as she could towards 
Whitemarsh. On the way she met Lieutenant 
Craig, who was one of Washington's scouts. 
He was riding about the country on horseback 
in search of news from the British. Lydia 
beckoned to him to stop his horse. Then she 
rode up near him and said, " Sir, I have some 
important news for 3^outo carry to Washington, 
but you must promise not to reveal my name." 
He promised not to do so. Then she said, 
"Please go and tell Washington that the British 
are coming from Philadelphia to-night to attack 
him and the Americans. Tell him to get every- 



2jS BI TS OF HIS TOR Y. 

thinjr ready to meet them." This done, she 
went back to the mill. The miller tilled her 
bag with flour, and she returned home with it. 

When evening arrived, L3'dia Darrah saw 
the British troops marching out of the cit}^ She 
knew that they were going to Whitemarsh to 
attack Washington, and she prayed to God that 
the}' might fail. 

The British troops marched proudly towards 
Whitemarsh. They were full of hope and ex- 
pected to surprise the Americans, but they 
w^ere disappointed. When they arrived at 
Whitemarsh, the Americans had ever3'thing 
ready to meet them. Their cannon were loaded. 
Their horses were saddled. The soldiers were 
awake and drawn up in line ready for battle. 
Washington wanted to have a battle with the 
British, but they saw that it would be useless to 
attack him. They withdrew from Whitemarsh 
and went back to Philadelphia. They had been 
on a fool's errand. 

The British General became sus])icious of 
Lydia. A few days afterwards, he called her 
to his room, and said, " Madam, are you sure 
that no member of your family was awake that 
evening T had company in your upper room?" 
"Yes, I am sure." replied Lydia. " My husband 
and all my children went to bed at seven 
o'clock. I was the last one to retire. I went to 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



239 



bed just after you all went up-stairs, j^ouknow. 
There was no other person in the house that 
evening." " It is very strange," said the General. 
" You, Lydia, I know, were sound asleep, be- 
cause I had to knock on your door three times 
before you awoke. However, somebody be- 
trayed us. I cannot understand wdio it was, 
but I know that it was not you, Lydia. So now 
you may go." 

THE RESCUE OF TWO SISTERS. 

MANY years ago, before the Pequod War, a 
man lived at Saybrook, which is at the 
mouth of the Connecticut river. He was a 
farmer and lived with his wife and two daugh- 
ters. One of the daughters was named Lulu 
and the other Lena. Lulu was the older. She 
was fifteen years old and Lena w^as twelve. 

One day their father and mother went away 
from home on business. Lulu and Lena sta3^ed 
at home and took care of the house. Suddenly 
a band of Indians came from the woods to the 
house. They took the two girls ca^Dtive and 
carried them awa}-. 

These Indians were called Pequods. They 
lived in the country east of the Connecticut 
river. The}^ all hated the white people and 
wished to destroy them, because they were 



240 BI TS OF If IS TOR \ '. 

stealin.L:; their lands. Their leader was named 
Sassacus. He had a strong fort near where the 
city of Xew London now stands. The Indians 
took Lulu and Lena to this fort and kept them 
captive there. 

• When the white people heard that the 
Pequods had carried away the two sisters, they 
were very indignant. Immediately the}' pre- 
pared a ship and sent a company of soldiers up 
the Thames river to the Indian fort. They 
demanded the two girls from the Indians, but 
Sassacus refused to give them up. 

The soldiers were in much trouble. They 
knew that Sassacus was very strong, because 
there were many hundreds of Indians in his 
fort. They feared that they would be beaten. 
So they did not attack the Indian fort, but they 
thought of a i)lan to rescue the two girls. 

The soldiers ])retended that they did not care 
about the girls. The}" began to be friendly to 
Sassacus and his Indians. They talked kindly 
to them and traded with them for a long time. 
Finally the soldiers invited seven of the Indian 
chiefs to come on board to see their shij). The 
chiefs did so, not knowing that the soldiers 
were going to deceive them. Suddenly the 
soldiers lifted their anchor and sailed the ship 
down the river. Then they sent word to Sas- 
sacus that thev would throw his seven chiefs 



BITS OF HISTORY. 241 

into the sea and drown them, if he did not give 
up the captive girls at once. This frightened 
Sassacus, and so he set the two girls free. The 
Indians carried them to the ship in a canoe and 
brought back the seven Indian chiefs to Sas- 
sacus. 

The soldiers were shrewd. The}^ took Lulu 
and Lena back to • their home at Saybrook. 
Their father and mother were very glad to see 
them safe at home again, and they felt very 
grateful to the soldiers for rescuing their 
daughters. 



THE FIRST 
BLOW FOR AMERICAN LIBERTY. 

IN the year 1774 the British had a fort on a 
small island near Portsmouth, N. H. It 
was named Fort William. There was a large 
quantity of powder stored in it, and a man 
named Cochran was stationed there with several 
guards to watch it. 

A few miles above Fort William there was 
a small village. It was situated on the Piscata- 
qua river. Two little bo3^s lived in this village. 
Their names were Larry and Tony. The}^ 
were brothers. Larry was twelve 3"ear3 old, and 
Tony was four years younger. They lived 



2 '2 



BITS OF HISTORY 




BITS OF HISTORY. 24.3 

with their uncle, whose house was situated near 
the village church. 

One evening the two boys went up-stairs to 
go to bed. Just as they began to take off their 
clothes, they saw a light moving about in the 
church. They knelt down by the window sill 
and watched. They saw several men digging 
a large hole under the pulpit. One of the men 
was their uncle, and another was Captain Sulli- 
van. They did not know the other men. 

" I know what they are going to do. They 
are going down the river to Fort William to 
seize the powder, and they will hide it in that 
hole. I heard uncle speaking to aunt about it 
at supper to-night," said Larry to his little 
brother. Then the boys put on their shoes, got 
their hats, and ran down to the church. When 
their uncle saw them, he was a little displeased, 
because he thought it was time for them to be 
in bed, but they told him that they wanted to 
help fight for liberty. Larry teased his uncle to 
let him go down to the fort with the men, but his 
uncle said, " Larry, I know that 3^ou are a good 
boy and want to help us, but you are too young 
to be out so late. I want you to yoke up my 
oxen, hitch them to the cart and drive them 
to the shore to meet us before daylight to-mor- 
row morning." Larry was glad to be of some 
service to the men, and replied, "Yes, I will, 



244- 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



uncle." Then he took his little brother by the 
hand, and they went back to bed. 

There were eleven strong men in the party. 
They were commanded b}^ Captain Sullivan. 
The American people had only a little powder. 
The}^ wanted very much to get more to tight 
against the British and gain their liberty. So 
Captain Sullivan and his men had planned to 
seize the powder at Fort William. 

When the men had finished digging the hole 
under the pulpit, they all went to the shore of 
the river. Then they got into a large, flat boat, 
called a scow, and rowed it down the river for 
a long time. By and by they arrived near the 
island. Then they rowed more quietly, and the 
men talked with each other by signs or by 
whispering. Pretty soon the scow touched the 
shore. Then they all went on land and walked 
on tip-toe towards the fort. The moon had 
risen, but the sentinel did not see them, until 
thev were close b}^ his side. Then he cried out, 
" Who goes there," but quickly Captain Sullivan 
grasped his throat with one hand, seized his 
gun with the other hand and told him that he 
would kill him, if he made a noise. Meanwhile, 
the other men rushed into the fort. Colonel 
Cochran was taken by surprise. He saw that it 
was too late to. defend the fort, so he surren- 
dered. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 245 

«# — 

Captain Sullivan and his men took all the 
kegs of powder from the fort and carried them 
to their scow. Then they rowed it up the river 
to their village. There they found Larry on 
the shore with the cart and oxen waiting for 
them. They loaded the cart with the powder, 
and the oxen drew it to the church. The}^ hid 
some of the kegs of powder under the pulpit. 
The rest they hid in their cellars. 

A man named Wentworth was then the ro3^al 
governor of New Hampshire. He was very 
indignant, when he heard about the seizure of 
the powder. He offered a reward for the cap- 
ture of Captain Sullivan and his men, but 
they were smart and escaped. He also tried to 
find the powder, but failed. 

When the people of that little village heard 
about the battles of Lexington and Concord, 
they put the kegs of powder in the bottom of a 
hay-rack. Then they loaded the rack with hay, 
and a yoke of oxen drew it to Cambridge. Of 
course the British saw the load of ha}^ but they 
knew nothing about the powder. 

During the battle of Bunker Hill the Amer- 
icans used this same powder and drove the 
British back twice, The}^ would have beaten 
them, but their powder was all gone. 



246 />•/ TS OF HIS TOR J ' 



A UXT POLLY'S BRIGADE. 



MR. SWEET was a carpenter. He lived in 
Hamden, \^a. He had a wife and several 
children. His wife's sister lived with them and 
took care of the children. She was quite old, 
short in stature and bent in form. The children 
were much attached to her, and called her Aunt 
Polly. 

It was during the War of 181 2. One morn- 
in<^ of that 3'ear Mr. Sweet and his family were 
seated around the table eating breakfast. Sud- 
denl}" the door flew open, and a man rushed into 
the room. His face was pale, and he was all out 
of breath. He told Mr. Sweet that the British 
ships had crossed the ba3^ and that the soldiers 
were landing to attack and destro}^ the town. 

This news frightened the children, but Mr, 
and Mrs. Sweet were calm. They had a short 
talk together and decided that Aunt Polly 
should lead all the children to Mr. Gubtile's 
farm about a mile awa}^ in the countr}^ This 
caused the children to cry, because they did 
not wish to part with their dear mother, but she 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



247 



kissed and soothed them, and soon their tears 
dried up. Then she put on their tilings, and 
they all followed aunt Poll}^ in double hie. 

As they passed the village school-house, they 
met many other children cr34ng and sobbing, 
because they were afraid of the cruel British 
soldiers. Aunt Polly felt pit}^ for them and 
allowed them all to join her procession. They 
were glad to do so, and she lead them along the 
road. B}" and by they arrived at the top of a 
hill. There they stopped to rest for a few min- 
utes, and pretty soon they heard the firing of 
cannon and guns. The children knew that 
their fathers and brothers were fighting the 
British to defend the town. The}^ did not dare 
to stay on the hill any longer. So the^^ followed 
Aunt Poll}^ again and after awhile arrived at 
Mr. Gubtile's farm house. 

Mr. Gubtile and his wife were old and poor. 
They were surprised and wonde±-ed why so 
many children had flocked to their house. Then 
Aunt Polly explained matters and told them 
that the children must spend a few da3^s at their 
place. This made the Gubtiles feel a little dis- 
pleased, because they were poor and had not 
enough food and beds for so man}^ persons. 
But Aunt Polly said to them, "Do not worry 
about our comfort. The bo3^s can sleep on the 
hay-mow in the barn, and the girls can sleep 



24-8 BITS OF HISTORY. 

on the kitchen floor. The boys can eat roast 
potatoes and salt. If the j^irls can ha\c hrown 
bread and milk, that will be enouj^^h, and much 
better than to be cruelly treated b}' the British 
soldiers." The Gubtiles smiled at this and 
allowed them all to stay at their ])lace. 

So the bo3^s had roast potatoes and salt for 
dinner and also for supper that day and, when 
evenin<^ arrived, they went into the barn 
on the ha3^-mow but the}^ could sleep only a 
little. So, to make time pass awa}- merrih', they 
w^restled with each other, jumped from the 
beams upon the soft ha^^ told funny stories, 
turned somersaults, pla3'ed hide and seek, and 
other games. They enjoyed themselves greatly 
and in the morning told the girls that they had 
a much better time than they had. But the 
girls replied that Aunt Polly amused them with 
funn}^ stories till nearly eleven o'clock. Then 
the}^ spread soft blankets on the kitchen floor, 
and all sleptsoundly until morning. They told 
the boys that sound sleep was much sweeter 
than foolish play. 

The next day they heard no guns firing. 
They were anxious to know whether the Amer- 
icans or the British had gained the victory. 
Some of the older boys wanted to run to the 
village to see, but Aunt Polly would not allow 
any of them to go. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 24^ 

On the second day a messenger came to the 
house and told them that the British had taken 
the town and were still holding it. This news 
saddened the hearts of the children, but the}^ 
must submit to it. 

In a day or two the flour and meal in Mr. 
Gubtile's house were all gone, and there were 
but few potatoes in the field. Then Aunt 
Polly said that she must take the children back 
to their homes. So she called them together 
and, after bidding the Gubtiles good-bye, started 
with her procession towards the town. When 
they came near to it, they saw the British sen- 
tinels marching back and forth. Aunt Polly 
and the children trembled with fear. Finally 
she thought of a plan to stop the soldiers from 
hurting them. She took her handkerchief from 
her dress pocket and fastened it to a long stick. 
She gave it to one of the boys at the head of the 
procession and told him it was a flag of truce. 
When they came near, the British sentinels 
cried out, "Stop, children. You cannot pass 
our line." Then the boy waved his little flag, 
and Aunt Polly went to them and told them 
that the children wanted to go to their homes. 
The sentinels smiled and allowed them to go. 
Then off they scampered with light hearts, and 
in a few minutes they were in the arms of their 



2J0 BI TS OF HIS TOR ) '. 

parents. Tliey always remembered good Aunt 
Polly and the Gubtiles. 



THE YOUNG SOLDIER. 

GERVAISE BRENSHAW was a lad four- 
teen 3'ears of age. His home was in 
Virginia. He was handsome, strong, and brave 
for a bo}^ of his age. His father had been a 
soldier in the French and Indian War. He 
was a close friend of General Putnam and had 
fought by his side in several battles. In one 
battle near Lake George he received a severe 
wound in his right hip and fell to the ground. 
Then a French soldier ran to him and was 
going to put an end to his life with the butt of 
his gun. Just then Putnam saw his danger. 
He rushed forward quickly, struck the French 
soldier with his sword and killed him. Thus 
Gervaise's father's life was saved, but the 
ball always remained in his hip. 

Gervaise was very desirous to become a 
soldier. He seemed to have inherited this 
desire from his father. When he heard about 
the battles of Lexington and Concord, his anger 
was kindled against the British. Me grew 
impatient and could stay at home no longer. 
He teased his father to let him go lo Boston to 



BITS OF HISTORY. 231 

help fight against the British, but the father 
was unwilling to let his son go, because he, 
thought that he was too young. 

But Gervaise was determined not to stay at 
home. He had an aunt and two cousins living 
in a small town between Worcester and Boston. 
So he pretended that he wished to go there and 
make them a visit. After much coaxing his 
father allowed him to go. Then Gervaise was 
delighted. He mounted his fine horse and 
galloped away from home with a light heart. 
After traveling for several days, he arrived at 
the town where he supposed his aunt lived. 
There he saw a lady sitting on the piazza of a 
small inn by the road. He reined his horse to 
her and asked her if she knew where the wife 
of Matthew Brenshaw lived. She told him 
that she used to live in a house not far from 
her inn, but that she had lately become a Tory 
and moved into Boston. This news saddened 
the heart of Gervaise. The Americans had 
lately shut the British up in Boston, so that no 
one was allowed to go in or out of that city. 
Yet he did not feel disappointed. It was now 
growing dark. So he concluded to spend the 
night at the inn. 

There was only one boarder at the inn that 
evening. He was a 3^oung man about the same 
age as Gervaise. He acted rather strangely. 



2j2 BITS OF HISTORY. 



Gervaise watched him and was led lo believe 
that he was a British spy. But he kept the 
matter a secret. Durin*^ that nij^ht he was 
awakened by a noise under his window. He 
got up, w ent to the window and peeped lhrouj.^h 
the shutters. The moon was shining brightly. 
He saw the same young boarder mount a smart 
horse and gallop away towards Boston. He 
thought it very strange that he should leave 
the inn in the middle of the night. 

The next morning as Gervaise opened the 
door of his chamber, he saw a small piece of 
white pa])er lying on the hall tloor. He picked 
it up and carried it into his room. It was a 
note which the 3^oung boarder had lost. He 
opened it, and it read thus: "Meet me at Lech- 
mere's Point Rocks, Saturday night cit eight 
o'clock." He could not understand what it 
meant. So he folded it and put it into his vest 
pocket. 

After breakfast Gervaise mounted his horse 
and started to go to Boston to try and tind his 
aunt. He rode on for several hours and arrived 
at Cambridge. There he met the American 
guards. They cried out to him to stop. Then he 
told them of his aunt and that he wanted to go 
and see her, but they refused to let him and told 
him that he must get a pass from General Putnam. 
So to Putnam's office he went and told him his 



BITS OF HISTORY. 253 

story, but that General shook his head and said 
that it was very dangerous to try to go to Bos- 
ton, because the British might arrest him as a 
spy and then hang him. But General Putnam 
was very glad to see Gervaise, because he knew 
his father. So he invited him to spend a few 
days with him. Gervaise accepted the invita- 
tion, and that afternoon, just as it began to 
grow dark, he went out to take a short walk. 

By and by he saw a narrow path which led 
through some thick bushes. He met a man by 
the way and asked him to what place the path 
led. The man replied, "To Lechmere's Point 
Rocks." Then Gervaise remembered about the 
note. He took it from his pocket and read it. 
It was now Saturday night and would soon be 
eight o'clock. So he resolved to follow the path 
to the point to see what would happen. It was 
dark when he arrived there. Suddenly a man 
sprang out of the bushes in front of him. He 
was somewhat frightened, but the man pointed 
to his boat near by and said, "Come, get in 
quickly, and I will row you over to Boston." 
Gervaise saw at once that the man had mistaken 
him for the British spy whom he saw at the 
inn. So, feeling thankful for his good luck, he 
jumped into the boat, and the man began to 
row him over the river. When the boat reached 
the middle of the river, the man handed him a 



254- BITS OF HISTORY. 

British uniform and told him to i)ut it on. This 
Gervaise did, feeling still more thankful for 
his good luck. Pretty soon the boat reached 
the shore of Boston. He wtdked up the streets 
and iiKjuired for his aunt. He soon found her 
house. His aunt and two cousins were very 
glad to see him. The}' believed that he was a 
British soldier, because he kept his adventure a 
secret. He stayed with his aunt several days. 
Then he went back and joined General Put- 
nam's army. He was always a brave soldier. 
He helped the Americans in the battle of 
Bunker Hill. 



POLL V AND HER FA THER. 

DURING the Revolutionary War Mr. Gil- 
ford was an officer in General Putnam's 
arm}'. His home was on Long Island sound 
near New Haven. He had a wdfe and one 
daughter. His daughter's name was Polly, and 
she was thirteen years old. 

Once General Putnam and his army were in 
the state of New York, and he wanted someone 
to take a message to a friend of his, who lived 
in Hartford. Accordingly, he selected Mr. Gif- 
ford for his messenger. 

Mr. Gilford mounted his horse and rode as 
far as New Haven. It was then Saturday night, 



BITS OF HISTORY. 255 

and he thought that he would spend Sunday at 
home with his family before going to Hartford. 
^ The next morning Mrs. Gifford put on her 
nice clothes and went to church, but Polly 
stayed at home to watch her father. There 
were two British ships at anchor in the Sound, 
and she feared that some British soldiers might 
come ashore to capture him. 

Mr. Gifford had been away from home for a 
long time. He felt very tired. So he lay down 
on the lounge and went to sleep. Polly sat by 
her father watching him. She feared that 
he would catch cold, so she spread a blanket 
over him. Then she took a book and sat by 
the window and began to read. 

Pretty soon she turned her eyes from her 
book to the Sound and was surprised to see 
several men rowing a boat towards her father's 
back-yard. She ran quickly to the lounge and 
cried out, "Father, wake up quickly. The 
British are coming to capture you." 

Mr. Gifford jumped quickly from the lounge 
and looked out of the window towards the 
Sound. He saw the boat, and he turned to Polly 
and said, " They are British, indeed ! I must 
escape ! Where shall I hide, my dear child ? " 

At first Polly was a little f)uzzled, but in a 
minute she took her father's hand and led 
him down cellar. She showed him a clean, 



236 BITS OF HISTORY. 

empt}^ meat-barrel down there and lold him to 
get into it. He did so. Then she placed the 
cover over his head and i)ut several large pieces 
of meat on the cover. Then she went uji-stairs 
to the kitchen. 

Just as she arrived there, she heard a loud 
knock on the back-door. She was a little fright- 
ened and her hands trembled, but she went 
boldly to the door and opened it. " Stand 
aside, little girl. We must go into the house," 
said the leader of the men to Poll\\ Polly stood 
boldly in the doorway and replied, " M}' mother 
is awa}" at church, and she told me not to allow 
any strangers to come into the house, while she 
was awa3\" Then the men replied, "We did 
not come after your mother. \\'e want 3^our 
father. We have heard that he is hiding in 
this house, and we are determined to catch him." 
Then they rushed inside and began to search 
about the rooms. 

Some of the men stood at the doors and 
watched. Others searched the whole house 
from attic to cellar. They found a hole in 
the chimney, where Mrs. Gifford smoked her 
hams. They suspected that Mr. Gififord was 
hiding in there, (^ne of them crawled into the 
hole. He found nothing and came out witli 
his face and hands black with soot. They 
searched in ihc cellar for a long time. Several 



BITS OF HISTORY. 257 

Zj, — 

times they looked at the barrel with the pieces 
of meat on its cover, but they thought that the 
barrel was heaping full of- meat. So they did 
not touch it. 

At last they got tired of searching. They 
filled their pockets with apples and went up- 
stairs to the kitchen. Then they helped them- 
selves to the food in the pantry. At last they 
went into the barn. Luckily Mr. Gifford's horse 
was feeding in the pasture and his saddle was 
hidden under the hay. So the British found 
nothing. They were much disappointed and 
went back to their ships. 

Then Polly went down cellar to call her 
father. She took the cover from the barrel, and 
he crawled out. At first he could not walk, 
because his legs were stiff. He and Polly 
rubbed them. Soon they were all right. Then 
he wrote a note to his wife, kissed Polly, 
mounted his horse, and galloped away to 
Hartford. 

Mr. Gifford always remembered how Polly 
saved him from being captured by the British. 



HOW 
GENERAL SCOTT WAS BETRAYED. 



o 



NCE, during the War of 181 2, General 
Scott was in Canada near Niagara Falls 



2sS BITS OF HISTORY. 

with a c()mi)any of American soldiers. F'or 
some da^'S he challenged the British and Indian 
arm)" to jj^ive him battle, but they were afraid 
to tight and kept retreating. 

One day General Scott pursued the British 
and Indians until it began to grow dark. Then 
the Americans pitched their camp on one side 
of a river, while the British and Indians made 
their camp on the opposite bank. A bridge 
crossed the river betw^een the two armies. 

That evening a man came to General Scott's 
camp with a letter. He was dressed like a 
peasant and carried a flag of truce. The letter 
w^as from a lady living near the bridge on the 
farther side of the river. She said in the letter 
that her husband was aw^a}" from home, and she 
feared that the soldiers would plunder her 
house during the night. She asked General 
Scott if he would be kind enough to place a 
sentinel on the bridge to watch her house 
during the night. General Scott was a kind 
man, and he could not refuse the lad3''s request. 
So he placed a sentinel on the bridge. 

The next morning the peasant came to 
General Scott again with another letter from 
the same lady. This time she thanked him 
very cordially for taking care of her house, and 
she politely invited him to come to her house 
and take breakfast with her. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



259 



At first General Scott hesitated about going, 
but he thought that the lady was honest. So 
he accepted the invitation, and went to the 
lady's house with two of his ofiicers named 
Worth and Watts. She met them at the door, 
shook hands with them, and said that she 
was glad to see them. She led them into her 
dining-room. They took off their coats and 
hats and hung them on the hooks. Then they 
sat by the table and began to eat breakfast. 

A servant girl poured the coffee and waited 
on them, but the lady went into the kitchen and 
pretended to be busy cooking. But quickly she 
ran out of the back-door to the British and 
Indian camp and told them that General Scott 
was eating breakfast at her house. They has- 
tened towards the house. Just as they were 
approaching it. Colonel Watts arose from the 
table and went to his coat to get his handker- 
chief. He accidentally looked out of the win- 
dow and saw the British and Indians comins:. 

He told the news to Generals Scott and 
Worth. They all quickly left the house through 
a window and ran towards the bridge. The 
British and Indians saw them running and shot 
at them, but they all got across the bridge safeh^ 

Some days after this General Scott beat the 
British and Indians in the battle of Chip- 



26o BITS OF HISTORY. 

— -^ ■ 

pewa. Then he went to the lady's house and 
destro3^ed it. 

AN HISTORICAL LOG. 

ONCE, during the ^^'ar of the Revolution, 
two British war ships sailed up the Dela- 
ware Ba\' and bombarded the town of Wilming- 
ton. The Americans there were not strong 
enough to defend it, so the British easil}" took 
possession of the town. 

There were a number of Americans in the 
town who were anxious to join Washington's 
arm}^ The}^ formed themselves into a com- 
pany and planned to march from the place, but 
the British commander heard al)out it, and he 
sent some British and Hessian soldiers to attack 
and disperse them. 

When the Americans saw the British and 
Hessians coming, they were afraid and took 
refuge in their friends' houses ; but one of them, 
named Captain Stidham, was very brave and 
refused to run. He stood tirmly and waited. 
WHien the British and Hessians came near, he 
fired his gun at them and killed several of them. 
Then he ran quickly into his cousin's house by 
the front-door, but he was afraid to stay in the 
house, so he went secretly out of the back-door 
and ran to a barn-vard. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 261 

There was an old hollow log lying on the 
ground in the 3^ard. Moss and lichens grew on 
it, and they partly covered the opening. Cap- 
tain Stidham thought that this was a good place 
for him to hide. So he got down on his hands 
and knees and crept backwards into the hollow. 
Then he pulled the moss and lichens over the 
opening. 

The British and Hessians saw him going 
into his cousin's front-door and supposed that 
he was hiding in the house. They fired their 
guns at the windows and doors and broke 
them open. Then they entered the house and 
searched all the rooms and closets to find him, 
but they failed to do so. 

While the soldiers were searching the house, 
two Hessians went into the barn-yard and 
looked about to find the captain. Pretty soon 
they grew tired and took a seat upon the hollow 
log. While they were sitting there, they talked 
with each other about Captain Stidham, and 
said that they would like very much to capture 
him. The captain heard them talking, and he 
almost laughed aloud. 

By and by the British and Hessians got tired 
of searching for the captain. So they went 
away to their ships. Then the captain crawled 
out of the log, went away and joined Washing- 
ton's army. This log remained in the place a 



262 ni TS OF HIS TOR 1 '. 

great many 3'ears afterwards, and many people 
went to see it. 



AARON PUTNAM 
AND THE SEVEN INDIANS. 

AARON PUTNAM was born in Connecticut 
and was a son of General Israel Putnam. 
In the 3'ear 1 788, when he was twent3'-one years 
old, he moved his family to Ohio. That state 
was then a great wilderness, where Indians 
roved about and hunted for bears, deer, and 
other wild animals. 

Aaron was brave and sturd}^ like his father. 
He did not fear either the Indians or the wild 
animals. Arriving in Ohio, he at once built a 
comfortable log house for his famil}^ Then he 
cut down trees with his axe and cleared a large 
farm. B}^ and by he built a large barn and be- 
gan to raise man}^ horses, cattle, and hogs. He 
was getting along nicely on his new farm, 
and he felt quite happy. 

But one night he awoke from his sleep and 
lieard his pigs squealing. He got up, i)ut on 
his boots, took his gun from the hooks and 
went out to see what was the matter. The 
moon was shining a little, and he saw seven In- 
dians running from the barn towards the woods. 
They had killed his fattest hog and were carry- 



BITS OF HISTORY. 263 



ing it away. Putnam was very indignant at 
the loss of his best hog, and he began to chase 
the Indians. He fired his gun at tliem several 
times and killed three of them. The other four 
left the dead hog and ran away into the woods, 
but they were angry at Putnam for taking the 
hog awa}^ from them, and they threatened to 
kill him. 

Putnam's friends advised him to be very 
careful after this. They told him that the four 
Indians would always remember him and would 
try to pay him back for killing their three 
friends. Still he did not feel afraid. He was 
very fond of hunting, and he could not give up 
the sport. 

One day, the next fall, he took his gun on 
his shoulder and went to the woods to shoot 
game. While he was looking about the woods, 
he suddenly saw two Indians at some distance 
away. He dodged behind the trunk of a large 
tree, but they caught sight of him and ran 3^ell- 
ing towards him. He left the tree and ran like 
a deer down a steep hill towards a river. The 
two Indians followed, firing their guns at him, 
but they could not hit him. They stopped for 
a minute to load their guns, while he kept on 
running towards the river. He crossed the 
river on a fallen tree. Just as he reached the 
farther side, he turned his head around and saw 



264 BITS OF HISTORY. 

the two Indians close upon him. Quickly he 
dodged behind the Ccirth-covered roots of 
another fallen tree. He found a small hole be- 
tween the roots. He placed the muzzle of his 
gun in it and waited. 

Pretty soon the two Indians arrived at the 
river. The}^ did not know that l^itnam was 
hiding behind the upturned roots. They both 
stepped upon the log and began to cross the 
river, one following the other. Instantly 
Putnam fired his gun, and the two Indians fell 
heels over head into the river. This was a re- 
markable escape for Putnam. He remembered, 
however, that two more of his enemies were 
still living. 

One evening, the next wdnter, Putnam was 
milking the cows in his barn-3^ard. Suddenly 
he heard the report of a gun, and a ball struck 
the ground near him. He left the 5^ard and ran 
quickly into the house. He took his gun, went 
up-stairs and ]ieeped out of a window. He saw 
an Indian hiding behind a stump at a little dis- 
tance from the house. He wanted to shoot him, 
but could not. because he kept crouched behind 
the stump. He whispered to his wife, to go 
down-stairs, open the door and shut it quickly. 
She did so. The Indian heard the noise and be- 
lieved that Putnam had come out of the house. 
He rose up from behind the stum]) to shoot him, 



BITS OF HISTORY. 263 

but quickly Putnam fired from tlie window and 
killed the Indian. Putnam now had but one 
enemy left. 

At another time, some weeks after this, he 
was bus}^ pitching hay from the top of a stack 
near his house. Pretty soon he heard a gun go 
off. He looked around and saw an Indian 
loading his gun and" getting ready to shoot him. 
Putnam quickly slid down from the hay-stack 
and ran into the house. The Indian fired at 
him again, but he was not hurt. With some 
friends he went to the woods and searched for the 
Indian, but they could not find him. 

The next spring Putnam was busy plowing 
in his field. He had his loaded gun fastened to 
the plow, for he feared that the Indian would 
come to attack him. When he had plowed sev- 
eral furrows around the field, suddenly he saw a 
small tree moving at some distance away. He 
pretended that he had not seen it and kept on 
plowing. He looked at the tree every few 
minutes, and he noticed that it was gradually 
approaching him. He knew that an Indian was 
hiding behind it. He unfastened his gun from 
the plow and quickly fired. The tree fell over, 
and he saw an Indian leap up and fall dead to 
the ground. This was the last of the seven In- 
dians, and Putnam felt very thankful for his 
man}^ narrow escapes. 



266 BITS OF HISTORY, 



JASON RESCUING HIS SISTER. 



SOME 3^ears ago a gentleman named Mr. 
Flint lived in New England. He had a 
wife, two daughters, and a son. 

B}^ and by Mr. Flint moved his family to 
Minnesota and lived on a farm about thirty 
miles from the town of Duluth. After some 
time his wife and one of his daughters died. 
Then he had one son and one daughter left. 
His son's name was Jason, and his daughter 
was named Abb3^ 

One da}^ Mr. Flint decided to go to Duluth. 
He had much business to attend to and. perhaps, 
would not return home for three da3^s. Before 
leaving home he ordered Jason to keej) l)usy 
while he was a^^ay and to hoe the patch of pota- 
toes which was some distance from the house. 

But Jason was a laz}^ boy and did not like 
to work. He spent the first da}^ hunting in the 
woods. The next day he began to fear that his 
father would soon return home and find the 
patch of potatoes unhoed. Then he knew that 
his father would give him a severe whipping. 
So he asked his sister Abby to help him, and 



BITS OF HISTORY. 267 

she was willing to do so. She went ahead of 
her brother and pulled the weeds from the 
rows, while he followed behind hoeing the 
potatoes. 

They worked in this way for some time. 
Abby was a smart girl. She pulled the weeds 
fast and got a loHg distance ahead of her 
brother. Pretty soon Jason looked up from his 
work and saw an Indian running from the 
woods and hiding behind an old stump in the 
potato patch. He did not want to frighten his 
sister by telling her about the Indian. So he 
shouted to her and told her not to hurr3^ but 
to keep near him. Then he told her that he 
was thirsty and was going home to get some 
water, but he got his gun and went by another 
way through some bushes to the potato patch. 

When he arrived there he found his sister 
gone. Pretty soon he heard her cr3ang. He 
looked towards the woods and saw the Indian 
carr3dng Abby in his arms towards the river. 
Jason then ran by another way to a narrow 
place in the river about a mile away. There he 
hid behind some bushes and waited. 

In a few minutes he saw the Indian coming 
up the river carrying Abby in his canoe. He 
meant to shoot the Indian and set his sister 
free, but the Indian suspected that somebody 
was hiding in the bushes, so he put his arms 



26S BITS OF HISTORY. 

around Abby and held her close to his side. 
Jason was then afraid to shoot the Indian, 
because he would shoot his sister, too. So the 
Indian passed the narrow place safely. 

Jason knew of a shallow place farther up 
the river. So he ran secretly to it and hid 
behind the roots of a fallen tree. He waited 
there for some minutes. Prett}^ soon the In- 
dian came in sij^ht. He paddled his canoe to 
the shallow place. Suddenly his canoe struck 
on the bottom of the river. Then the Indian 
^oi out of his canoe and began to pull it along 
with a rope. This was a good opportunit}' for 
Jason. He shot the Indian and his bod}^ 
floated down the river. Then Jason got into 
the canoe and paddled home with his sister. 



LAETITIA AND THE REDCOATS. 

7''H ERE was once a little girl, whose name was 
Laetitia Wright. She was fourteen 3^ears 
old and li\cd near the town of Georgetown in 
South Carolina. When she was ten 3'ears old 
her parents died. Then she became an orphan 
and went to live with her grandparents. She 
was a good and pretty girl. She loved her 
grandparents and they loved and petted her. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 26g 

It was at the time of the Revolutionary War. 
One pleasant morning Laetitia took her books 
under her arm and was walking along the road 
towards the village school-house. Suddenly she 
heard a loud shout and saw a man riding on 
horseback from house to house. She listened 
and heard him say that the British soldiers had 
crossed over the Santee river and were coming to 
burn and destroy the town. She was a little fright- 
ened, and she turned around and ran towards 
home as fast as she could. When she arrived 
there, she told her grandmother the news which 
she had heard. Then she ran to the mill to call 
her grandfather. He quickly left his work and 
went home with Laetitia. Then he talked with 
his wife, and they all decided to leave the house 
and go to the mountains, because the British 
perhaps would burn their house and take them 
all prisoners, if they should stay at home. But 
they did not wish to lose all their valuable 
things. So they began to pack them up in their 
satchels. 

Laetitia was a willing girl. She ran quickly 
about the rooms and helped her grandmother 
to find her things. By and by she found her 
grandfather's inkstand in one of the rooms, and 
near the stand there was a pen and some paper. 
Quickly a new thought came into her head. 



270 BITS OF HISTORY. 

She sat down beside the table, took the pen in 
her hand and wrote the following note : — 

''My Dear Redcoats: 

My name is Laetitia Wrij^ht. I am 
fourteen 5"ears old. I live in this house 
with my grandparents. They are good people. 
They are always kind to me and to all their 
neighbors. Please do not burn their house. If 
3^ou do so, it will cause them much pain. They 
are old and feeble and can do you no harm. 
Perhaps many of you have little daughters like 
me in England and old parents too. I know 
that 3^ou could not bear to see their homes 
burned down over their heads. Therefore have 
pit}^ upon us and spare this house. You will 
find some food in our pantr}^ which you can 
take and eat. We would leave more for 3^ou, 
but we are not rich. Now please remember not 
to burn our house, dear soldiers. Good day. 

Laetitia Wright." 

When she had finished writing the note, she 
folded it carefully and put it into her dress 
pocket. Then she scampered off to help her 
grandmother. She kept the note a secret and 
did not tell her grandparents about it. 

When they had packed all their valuable 
things, they took the heavy satchels and began 
to go away from the house towards the moun- 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



271 



tains. Suddenly Laetitia thought of her pet 
geese. " Oh ! Grandmother, my geese are shut 
up in the pen. Let me go and drive them out," 
she said. They allowed her to do so. Then 
she ran towards the pen, while her grandparents 
kept on walking slowly towards the mountains. 
She opened the door of the pen and drove the 
geese into the woods. Then she went to the 
front-door and fastened her note under the 
knocker. This done, she hastened on and 
soon overtook her grandparents. By and by 
they all arrived at the mountains. 

At sundown the British soldiers marched 
towards the town. They were angry at the 
Americans and meant to burn the whole 
town. They first arrived at Laetitia's grand- 
parents' house. One of the officers went 
to the front door. He found and read Lae- 
titia's note. While he was reading it, he 
thought of his own daughter at home in Eng- 
land. His heart was softened. He called the 
other soldiers and read the note to them. They 
all felt pity for Laetitia and promised not to 
burn any of the houses in the town. They 
went into the house and took all the food from 
the pantry, but did not steal any of the things. 

Soon it began to grow a little dark. Just as 
the soldiers were leaving the house, Laetitia's 
geese came walking in single file from the 



272 



BITS OF JflSrORY. 



woods towards their pen. This made the 
British feel happy. They quickly caught them 
and killed them. Pretty soon one of them 
caught the old j^ander and was going to kill him 
too. Quickly he thought of Laetitia and said : 
" I will not kill this gander. Perhaps it is her 
pet. So I will save it for her." Then he passed 
his hat around and each of the soldiers put 
some silver coins into it. He then put the 
money into a little bag and wrote a note telling 
Laetitia that the money was to pay her for the 
geese which the soldiers had killed. Then he 
fastened the bag and note to the gander's neck. 



/ 






C^)^^' 





' - f _- 



'-^ ///-^ y 



BITS OF HISTORY, 273 

By and by they all left the house and went to 
the other houses in the village. They stole 
the people's things, but no houses were burned. 
The next day the British all left the town. 
Then the people were all very glad. Laetitia 
and her grandparents returned from the moun- 
tains. They expected to find their house and 
all the town burned to the ground, but they 
were mistaken. They arrived home and were 
surprised to see it standing safe. As they 
entered the yard, Laetitia heard her gander 
quacking and saw the little bag fastened to its 
neck. She ran and took it and the note from 
its neck. She read the note and laughed. Then 
she opened the little bag and found it full of 
silver coins. She was delighted to get them. 
She took them to her grandparents and said, 
" The British soldiers are not so bad after all. 
See, they have left me this money." Then she 
confessed to them about the note which she 
fastened under the front-door knocker. Soon 
all the people in the town heard about it. They 
were all surprised. They could not understand 
before why the British had saved their town, 
when they always burned the others. Now 
they saw that it was Laetitia's note that did it. 
They all felt very grateful to her and thanked 
her most heartily. 



274 ^^ '^S ^^ ^^^'"^ T^^ ^ '• 



TRUSTING AN INDIAN CHIEF. 



MANY years ago the western part of New 
York was a great wilderness. No white 
])eople li\c<l there then, hut the woods were full 
of Indians. 

One spring a white man moved his family 
to the place where Utica now stands. He was 
a Judge and had a wife and one daughter. His 
daughter was a widow and she had a little bo}' 
four 3"ears old. His name was Arthur. He had 
light curly hair and was the i)et of the whole 
family. 

The Judge was a brave and industrious man. 
There were no white people living near, but he 
did not mind that. He worked hard for several 
weeks and built a good log hut for his family. 
Then he cut down the trees and cleared a large 
place for a farm. The Indi.ins often came out 
of the woods to his hut, but he was not afraid 
of them. He always treated them kindly and 
sometimes he gave them presents. They 
always remembered his kindness to them and 
would never do him and his familv an\- harm. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 275 

But there was one Indian chief living about 
a dozen miles away. He belonged to the Seneca 
tribe. He was cross and hated all the white 
people. All the other chiefs had visited the 
Judge except this one. Therefore the Judge 
began to be a little afraid that he might send his 
Indians to murder him and his family some time. 

So the Judge thought that he would try to 
gain the friendship of the Seneca chief. He 
sent him a message and politely invited him to 
come to his hut to see him. The chief accepted 
the invitation, and the next day he arrived at 
the hut. The Judge received him politely. He 
introduced him to his wife and daughter and 
lastly to little Arthur. They talked together 
for some time. While they were talking, the 
chief kept watching Arthur. He seemed to be 
much interested in the bo}^ 

The Judge invited the chief to take dinner 
w^ith his family. After dinner they talked 
together again. Finall}^- the Judge told the 
chief that he loved and respected the Indians 
and that he could trust them. The chief told the 
Judge that he did not believe that he was tell- 
ing the truth and asked him to prove what he 
was sa5dng. Then he pointed to little Arthur 
and said, " Let me take that boy home with 
me. After three days I will bring him back. 
Then I shall know that you can trust Indians." 



2j6 BITS OF HISTORY. 

When the boy's mother heard these words 
from the Indian chief, she became ahnost 
frantic. She loved her boy and did not want 
the Indian to take him awa}^ She seized 
Arthur in her arms and was going to run out 
of the hut with him. Then the chief's e3'es 
grew tierce and his face turned cross. 

Quickly the Judge went to his daughter and 
whispered in her ear. He told her that she 
must give up her boy to the chief. If she 
refused, the chief would soon order his Indians 
to kill all the iamWy. The mother felt ver}" 
badly, and large tears rolled down her cheeks, but 
she took her darling boy and placed him upon 
the chief's knee. The chief smiled. Then he 
took the bo}^ in his arms, bowed to the family 
and went away to the w^oods. 

The mother watched the Indian carrying 
her boy away, until he went out of sight l)ehind 
the bushes. Then she fell back into a chair 
and sobbed bitterh^ For three da3^s she ate no 
food, and at night she kept tossing about on her 
bed and could sleep only a little. She often 
woke up and thought that she heard her boy 
crying for help. She kept thinking about him 
and feared that the Indian was tormenting him 
and would put him to death. 

On the third da}^ Arthur's mother and grand- 
parents felt more hopeful. During the fore- 



BITS OF HISTORY. 277 

noon they kept looking towards the woods to 
see if the cliief was coming, but they saw him 
not. They ate no dinner. They paced the floor 
and kept on looking towards the woods every 
few minutes, but still they saw no chief with their 
darling boy. The afternoon passed away. The 
sun was going down, and it was growing dark. 

The mother wiped the tears from her eyes 
and looked towards the woods once more. This 
time she saw something moving among the 
bushes. What could it be ? She looked again 
and saw the Indian chief coming towards the 
hut leading her darling boy by the hand. She 
was overjoyed and ran to the door. There she 
met Arthur, but he did not look like her own 
dear boy. He had on a pretty suit of Indian 
clothes. He also wore moccasins on his feet, 
and feathers in his hair. Indeed, he looked just 
like an Indian boy. He walked proudly to his 
mother, hugged and kissed her and said, " I have 
had a nice time in the woods. The Indians 
were kind to me. They gave me presents and 
lots of nice food to eat. I love them." 

The old chief smiled at Arthur's words. He 
bowed to the family and said, " Now I know that 
you can trust Indians." Then he went away to 
his home. After this he often visited the 
Judge's family and he became a friend of the 
white people. 



?7S BITS OF ins TOR V. 



CAPTURING A CONFEDERATE FLAG. 



OXCE, during the Civil War. the Confeder- 
ate army had a fort at Si)otts3'lvania, Va. 
It was commanded by General Ewell. He had 
many cannon and several thousand soldiers 
there. Indeed, the fort was so strong that he 
thought that the Union soldiers could not 
capture it. 

A few miles away was the camp of a company 
of Union soldiers from Penns3dvania. They 
heard about the Confederate fort and they wished 
to capture it. So, one dark night, they marched 
secretl}^ towards it. Just at da3dight they ar- 
rived near it, and immediately the}^ made a rush 
towards it. 

The Confederate soldiers in the fort heard 
the cheering of the men. The}^ began to tire 
their cannon, and a fiag-l)earer stood waving a 
flag over the fort. Several of the Union men 
were killed, but the}" r-nshed on boldly. They 
climbed over the wall, captured the fort, and 
took six thousand prisoners and man}' cannon. 

One of the Union men was named Sergeant 
Fasnacht. He was onh^ ilineteen years old. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 27 g 

but he was the first man to climb upon the wall 
of the fort. He quickly ordered the Confeder- 
ate fiag-bearer to give up his flag, but he 
refused and ran quickly into a grove of trees. 
The young sergeant was very anxious to cap- 
ture a Confederate flag, tie wanted to become 
famous. The morning was misty and the air 
was thick with smoke. He lost sight of the 
flag-bearer, but he supposed that he would go 
around to the other side of the forest. So he 
ran quickly across a field to that place, and 
luckily he met him there in company with six 
guards. Quickly he aimed his gun at him and 
told him to surrender his flag, or he would 
shoot them all. The flag-bearer was taken by 
surprise. He trembled with fear and gave up 
the flag. 

Then the sergeant tore it from the staff, 
folded it, and put it into his bosom. He then 
ordered the men to give up their guns and 
march to the rear. They did so, and were all 
made prisoners. 

When the sergeant arrived at the place 
where his fellow-soldiers were, he found that 
his gun was empty. Had the flag-bearer and 
his guards known this, thej^ could have killed 
him easily and escaped. He had a hard laugh 
over it, but he felt very proud of his flag and 
kept it in his bosom. 



28o BITS OF HISTORY. 

At a little distance beyond another Confed- 
erate fort was discovered, and the Union men 
marched against it. A hard battle began. 
Many of the Union men were killed and 
wounded. Sergeant Fasnacht was shot in his 
left knee. He fell to the ground and could not 
walk. By and by some men took him up and 
carried him to the rear. There he was placed 
upon the ground with many other wounded 
soldiers. 

All day the battle continued. Pretty soon 
a company of Confederate troops came to 
the place where Fasnacht and the other 
wounded men were lying. The sergeant was 
afraid that they would find his flag and take it 
away from him. He thought where he could 
hide it. So he took off his coat and pretended 
that he was trying to fix something. He took 
the cotton lining out of his cocit and put the 
flag in the place of the cotton. He pinned it 
in there and then put the coat on. B}- and by 
the Confederate officers came to him and spoke 
to him, but they did not see his flag. 

Pretty soon a company of Union cavalry 
came forward. This frightened the Confeder- 
ates, and they ran to the woods. Then Ser- 
geant Fasnacht and the other wounded men 
were carried to Fredericksburg in ambulances. 
Thev found all the hospitals full there. So 



BITS OF HISTORY. 281 

they were put on board a steamer and carried 
to Washington, D. C. Sergeant Fasnacht was 
put to bed in the hospital in Washington. Tlie 
next day he felt much better. He remembered 
about his flag. So he took it from under his 
coat lining and hung it .on the wall near 
his bed. 

Many people came to the hospital to see the 
poor sick and wounded soldiers. The flag on 
the wall attracted much attention. They all 
admired the bravery of the young man, and the 
government gave him a Medal of Honor. 



A RUSH FOR A FLAG. 

JOHN MERRITTwasa 3^oung man eighteen 
years of age, whose home was in Minnesota, 
When the Civil War began, he became a sold- 
ier and joined a regiment from his own state. 
He was a brave fellow and was anxious to 
make his name famous. He thought that he 
could make it so by capturing a Confederate 
flag. 

Accordingly, he picked out four brave and 
zealous men to help him. Their names were 
Dudley, Durfee, Grim, and Lester. They all 
promised never to desert him, but to follow him 
wherever he went. 



28^. BITS OF HISTORY. 

In the battle of Bull Run these five men 
were tij^htin):^ bravely side by side. All at 
once they saw a Confederate color-bearer hold- 
ing aloft his flag. Instantl}^ Merritt gave the 
signal, '* Come on, boys," and immediately they 
all made a rush for the flag. When the}" got 
near, Merritt cried out to the color-bearer, " Give 
up that flag ! Give up that flag ! " and at the same 
time Dudley, Durfee, Grim, and* Lester aimed 
their guns at him. The color-bearer was fright- 
ened and cried out, " Don't shoot ! Don't shoot !" 
but quickly Merritt snatched the flag from his 
hands and made off with it at a rajnd run 
towards his regiment. All his comrades fol- 
lowed him laughing and thinking to themselves 
what an easy thing it was to capture an enemy's 
flag. 

Suddenly the}^ heard the firing of several 
guns, and immediately a shower of bullets 
came whistling past their heads. Grim and 
Lester fell dead to the ground. The other three 
men turned their heads around and saw about 
a dozen Confederate soldiers chasing them and 
crying out, "Stop ! Stop ! Drop that flag." But 
the yc^ung men held on to it still tighter and 
kept on running as fast as they could. Pretty 
soon they heard the firing of more guns, and 
again a volley of balls came flying among them. 
This time Durfee was killed and Merritt was 



BITS OF HISTORY. 283 

wounded in his left leg, while another ball 
struck his shirt pocket and broke his pipe into 
many pieces. He dropped his gun, but he held 
on to the flag and went hopping on one leg 
much faster than most men could run on two 
legs. He hopped along in this way for some 
distance, but soon a Confederate soldier over- 
took him, struck him on the head with the butt of 
his gun, and knocked him to the ground. Then 
he pulled the flag out of his hands and ran 
away with it. 

In a few minutes Dudley came to the place 
where Merritt was lying. He found that he 
was still breathing. So he took him up in his 
arms and carried him along a short distance 
towards his regiment, but he soon grew tired 
and had to put him down upon the ground. 
Then he went away to call another soldier to 
come to help him. While he was away, Merritt 
recovered from his shock and found that his 
leg was bleeding badly. He feared that he 
would bleed to death. So he took off his sus- 
penders and wound them tightly around his leg 
above the wound to stop the flow of blood. 

In a short time Dudley returned with 
another soldier. Then Merritt put an arm 
round the neck of each and held on to them 
while they carried him away. Pretty soon 
they heard a great noise. The)^ turned their 



284 BITS OF HISTORY. 

heads and saw the Union soldiers riinnin;^ in 
confusion. The retreat of Bull Run had begun. 
The confederates had won the victory and the 
Union soldiers were running for their lives. 

Dudley and the other soldier were afraid 
that the Confederates would soon catch them. 
So they ran with Merritt upon their shoulders 
as fast as they could, but they soon grew very 
tired. So they put him down and rested for a 
few minutes. Pretty soon they saw a man with 
two spans of horses coming towards them. The 
wagon was crowded full of wounded men. Mer- 
ritt begged the driver to let him ride, but he 
refused. Then he offered him four dollars to 
let him ride on one of the horses. The driver 
smiled and nodded his head. So Merritt was 
placed upon the back of one of the horses. 

The driver must hurry on, or the Confeder- 
ates would soon catch him. So he whipped the 
horses to make them go faster. The}^ galloped 
rapid!}'. The wounded men in the wagon were 
much shaken up, and Merritt's leg Wcis often 
hurt, because it was between two horses. So 
he turned around on tlie horse and rode back- 
ward. Thi,s was indeed ludicrous, but he could 
not help it. 

By and b}^ they arrived at a stream and 
found the bridge broken. The horses could 
draw the wagon no farther. So the driver 



BITS OF HISTORY. 285 

unhitched them from the wagon. He allowed 
several of the wounded men to get upon the 
backs of the horses, but the most of them he 
left to die in the wagon. The horses swam 
across the stream. Merritt still clung to his 
horse, and kept on riding for several hours. 
By and b}^ they arrived at a town named Cen- 
treville. Then he got into an ambulance and 
was taken to Washington, where he was placed 
in a hospital. 

He remained there for about thirty da5^s, 
when his leg was healed. Then he went back 
and joined his regiment again. He and Dudley 
were each presented with a Medal of Honor for 
their bravery at Bull Run. 



MOTHER BICKERDYKE. 

MRS. BICKERDYKE was a poor widow 
who lived in Ohio when the Civil War 
broke out. She wanted to help her country, 
but she could not become a soldier. She heard 
that a great many soldiers were sick in the 
camp at Cairo, Illinois, and that they had no 
nurses to take care, of them. She was a very 
kind-hearted, Christian woman, and she deter- 
mined to go to the camp and nurse the sick 
soldiers. 



286 BITS OF HISTORY. 

Soon she became their best friend, and did 
everylhin<^ she could to make them feel comfort- 
able and happy. At first she received no pay for 
her work. She did not care for herself. She loved 
the soldiers and called them her " bo3'S." Thev 
in turn became much attached to her and called 
her " Mother Bickerdyke." 

Gradual 1}^ she won her way. B}- and 1)V her 
name became familiar to all the Union soldiers 
in the army. They greeted her ever3'where 
she went. She was faithful and honest. Every- 
body could trust her. After some time she was 
made the matron of a large soldiers' hospital at 
Cairo. Generals Grant and Sherman were her 
friends. They allowed her to do as she pleased 
in the care of the sick and wounded soldiers, 
because she was so faithful. Peoi)le sent 
money and clothes to her for the soldiers. She 
followed the arm}^ about from place to place, 
and at every battle she helped and cared for 
those that were wounded. There are many 
interesting stories written about her. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 287 



MOTHER BICKERDYKE CAPTURES 
A THIEF. 



WHEN Mother Bickerdyke became the 
matron of the soldiers' hospital at Cairo, 
she found everything there wrong. The sur- 
geon was an habitual drunkard, and the servants 
were thieves. They often stole the food and 
clothes which were sent to the soldiers by their 
friends. 

One day she received a box by express for 
one of the sick soldiers. She opened it and 
found some shirts, stockings, and a pair of 
slippers. She put the things back into the box, 
and meant to give them to their owner the next 
day, but the next morning all the things were 
missing from the box. 

She determined to catch the thief, and she 
watched carefully. Pretty soon she saw one of 
the ward-masters wearing the soldier's shirt, 
stockings, and slippers. She was very angry 
at him. She seized him by his collar and led 
him before the sick and wounded soldiers. 
There she stripped the things from him and 



2S8 BITS OF HISTORY. 

gave them to their rightful owner. Then she 
turned to the ward-master and said, " There, 
shame on 3'ou ! What will you steal next ? 
Have you no pit}^ for the poor sick soldiers ? " 



PEACHES 

DO NOT AGREE ]\'ITII THTEVES. 

MOTHER BICKERDYKE loved the sick 
and wounded soldiers. She worked hard 
to please them, and every da}^ she cooked nice 
food for them, but thieves often stole the food in 
the. hospital. She was very much provoked, 
and she determined to catch and punish them. 
So one afternoon she went to a dru<^ store 
and boufrht some tartar emetic. It is not 
poison, but it will make people sick, if they eat 
it. She took the tartar emetic to the hospital, 
but did not tell anvlxxh^ about it. She pared 
and stoned some peaches, and put them into 
a stew-pan and sprinkled some su^ar over them. 
Then she set the stew-pan upon the stove, and 
stewed the peaches for a few minutes. Then 
she took them from the stove and poured them 
into a lar^e dish. She took the packan^e of 
tartar emetic from her dress pocket, sprinkled 
some of it into the peaches, and stirred them 
with a spoon. Nobody saw her do this. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



She took the dish of peaches into the din- 
ing-room and placed them upon the table. 
She told Tom, who was the cook, that the 
dish of peaches was for the sick soldiers. 
She said that they were hot and she had placed 
them upon the table to cool. Then she left the 
dining-room and went into her own room to see 
what would happen. 

When she had gone, Tom and the steward, 
and several of the ward-masters, and servants 
went into the dining-room and ate the peaches 
all up. Pretty soon she heard a great noise, 
and she went out of her room into the hall to see 
what was the matter. There she saw Tom, the 
steward, and several ward-masters, and the 
servants, and they were all sick and as pale as 
death. They were talking together and were 
wondering what had made them all so sick at 
the same time. Mother Bickerdj^ke w^ent to 
them and said, " There 3^ou are. I have caught 
3^ou at last. I understand the reason wh}" 3^ou 
are sick. You have been stealing the soldiers' 
peaches. They do not seem to agree with 3^ou. 
If you do not stop this stealing, 3'Ou will eat 
some rat poison some day." 

Some time after this a friend in Boston sent 
a large refrigerator to Mother Bickerdyke. 
She was ver^^ glad to get it, for she thought that 
she would be troubled no more by thieves. 



2go 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



That nij^ht she put her milk, her pies and cakes, 
and all her nice things into it. Then she locked 
the door and was very careful to put the key 
into her dress pocket. But the next morning 
she was astonished and angry to tind the lock 
of her refrigerator broken and all her nice 
things gone from it. She knew that it was 
Tom, who had done it. She could be patient 
no longer. She went to General Grant and told 
him all about her troubles. He was very indig- 
nant. He at once dismissed the surgeon, Tom, 
the ward-masters, and all the servants from the 
hospital, and put new and honest persons 
in their places. Then Mother Bickerd3'ke 
was troubled no more b}^ thieves. 



SEARCHING 
FOI^ irOCXDED SOLDIEKS AT NIGHT. 

DURING the Battle of Donelson in Tennes- 
see a great many of the Union soldiers 
were killed and wounded. Mother Bicker- 
dyke had a hospital tent near the battle-tield. 
All da}" her servants brought in the wounded 
soldiers from the field, and she dressed their 
wounds and took care of them. 

When it began to grow dark, her servants 
came back to the tent empt}" handed and told 



BITS OF HISTORY. 2gi 

her that there were no more wounded soldiers 
on the field. " Are )^ou sure ?" she said. " Yes, 
we are sure," they replied. But Mother Bick- 
erdyke did not feel satisfied. She kept on 
thinking that there was one more wounded 
soldier still alive on the field somewhere. 
That night she could not sleep. At about mid- 
night she got up from her bed, lighted her lan- 
tern and walked softly to the field. She found 
many soldiers lying on the ground, and she 
turned their heads to see if the}^ were still liv- 
ing. She walked about from place to place. 
By and by she found one still breathing. His 
tongue was shot off, and he could not shout. 
His leg was also broken, and he could not 
walk. 

While she was walking about the field, an 
officer awoke and saw her lantern moving 
about. He could not understand who it was. 
He called his servant and told him to go to the 
field to see who it was. When the servant 
arrived at the place, he saw Mother Bicker- 
d3^ke sitting on the ground with the wounded 
soldier's head resting on her arm. She beck- 
oned the servant to come to her. Then they 
took the soldier up in their arms and carried 
him to the hospital. She gave the servants a 
good scolding, because they were so careless. 
She took good care of the soldier and he soon 



2<)2 BITS OF HISTORY. 

— « _ 

recovered. He felt very grateful to Mother 
Bickerdyke. He knew that he would have 
died before mornin*^, if she had not found him 
and taken him from the field. 



SA VI NG A 
SOLDIER'S LEG EROM AMPUTATION. 

MOTHER BICKERDYKE Avas a very 
industrious woman. Every da}^ she 
took care of the sick and wounded soldiers, and 
often she watched over them at night. So 
much care and work injured her health, and the 
doctor advised her to take a vacation. She had 
a lady friend living in Chicago, so she went 
there to spend a few weeks. 

She arrived at Chicago in the afternoon, 
and that same evening, she went to church 
with her friend to see a marriage. Soon after 
the}' had taken their seats, the young bride and 
bridegroom walked down the aisle arm in arm 
to the altai". Then the minister married them. 

After the marriage the people left the church 
and went to a reception at the house of the 
bride's father. There they shook hands with 
the young couple and congratulated them. 
Mother Bickerdyke did the same. She first 
went to the young husband. Just as the}' were 



BITS OF HISTORY. 2qj 

going to shake hands, he looked into her face 
and recognized her. " Why I know 5^ou. You 
are Mother Bickerdyke," he said, and shook 
her hand heartil}^ Slie was astonished to hear 
him speak her name. Slie looked into his face 
for a long time, but she could not remember 
who he was. 

Now it happened that the young husband was 
a soldier in the Union army, but he was visit- 
ing at home for a few weeks. In the battle of 
Donelson, while he was fighting bravely with 
General Grant, a musket-ball broke his leg. 
He fell to the ground, but was soon taken to 
Mother Bickerdyke's hospital tent by some 
men. There the surgeons examined his \Qg and 
decided to cut it off, but he refused to let them. 
He shouted for Mother Bickerdyke to come 
to his bed. Then he asked her to look at the 
wound and see if his leg could not be saved. 
She did so and found that it was not wounded 
very badly. She told the surgeons that they 
ought not to amputate it, but they refused to 
listen to her. They were getting ready to 
amputate the leg, when she seized the soldier 
in her arms and carried him into her own tent. 
She shut it and refused to let them go into it. 
She watched the soldier, took good care of him, 
and dressed his leg every day. After a few 



294- I'^ITS OF HISTORY. 

months it got well, and he could walk without 
limping. 

"Do you not remember me?" he said to 
Mother Bickerdyke, while he stood looking 
into her face after the marriage. Then he 
told her how he had been wounded in the 
battle of Donelson, and how she carried him 
into her own tent to save his leg from the 
surgeons. 

" Oh ! Yes ! I remember 3"0U now," she said. 
She told him that she had forgotten him, because 
she had taken care of so many soldiers that she 
could not remember them all. Then she asked 
him to excuse her and said, " How is your leg 
now ?" He replied that it was just as good as 
the other one and much better than a wooden 
one, which the surgeons meant to give him. 
Then he told her that he was glad to meet her 
and should always remember her kindness in 
saving his leg. 

MOTHER BICKERDYKE'S EIELD 
HOSPITAL OJERTC'RXED. 

AFTER the battle of Chattanooga Mother 
Bickerdyke had two thoiisand sick and 
wounded soldiers in her hospital tents. During 
the winter after that battle the weather was 
very cold. She cooked food and made tea and 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



295 



coffee for the soldiers by log fires. It was hard 
work. Her eyes were filled with smoke and 
the sparks from the fire burned holes in her 
dress, but she was patient. She did not care 
for herself and was willing to do anything to 
help the soldiers. 

One night there was a severe wind and rain 
storm in that place, and the weather'was so cold 
that ice was formed on ever3^thing. Suddenly 
the wind overturned Mother Bickerdyke's hos- 
pital tents, and her two thousand patients 
were left uncovered in the rain and cold. She 
was ver}^ much troubled, but she did not get 
discouraged. She quickly ordered her servants 
to make a large fire. Then she gathered the 
sick and wounded soldiers around it. Their 
blankets and her own clothes were stiff with 
ice, and her hands were numb with cold, but 
she worked on patiently. She made hot coffee 
and carried it about for the soldiers to drink. 

Still another trouble came. The servants 
could find no more wood to keep the fires burn- 
ing. She told them that they must find more 
wood, or the soldiers would all die before morn- 
ing came. She ordered them to go to a forest 
at some distance away to gather more wood, 
but the surgeon refused to let them go, because 
he feared that they would get lost in the dark. 
He said that the soldiers had better lie down 



2g6 BI TS OF HIS TOR Y. 

and be patient until mornin;^. I^ut said she, 
" They will all be dead before that time. I can- 
not allow it. The soldiers must be saved." 

Just then she thouj^ht of an old fort at a 
little distance away, and she quickly ordered her 
servants to tear it down and brin;^ the lo^s to 
her for tire-wood. But the surj^eon told her that 
the army officers would arrest and put her in 
prison, if she touched the fort. She replied, '* I 
do not care, if they do. I would rather be cast 
into prison than to have all these soldiers frozen 
to death from neglect." 

So the servants obe^-ed her order. They 
tore down the old fort and brought the logs to 
her. With these they made a large hot fire. 
She made hot coffee and gave it to the soldiers 
to drink. She also warmed some bricks and 
placed them b}^ their feet to keep them warm. 
It was a terrible night, but all the soldiers were 
saved and she felt satisfied. 

The next morning she met the arm}" officers 
and explained to them her reason for tearing 
down the old fort, and she showed them how she 
had saved the lives of the soldiers. They were 
a little cross, but the}" knew that she had acted 
rightly and did not arrest her. 



BITS OF HISTORY. 297 



MOTHER BICKERDYKE'S FURLOUGH. 



IN the year 1863 Mother Bickerdyke became 
the matron of a large hospital at Memphis, 
Tenn. Many hundreds of sick and wounded 
soldiers were brought there from the battle- 
fields, and she waited on them and took care 
of them. 

The Union people at the North sent her tea, 
coffee, sugar, flour, and meat for the soldiers, 
but they could not send her milk and eggs, 
because her hospital was too far awa}^ The 
milk would turn sour and the eggs would get 
broken by riding so far in the cars. 

She needed fresh milk and eggs every day. 
She could not make good tea or coffee for the 
sick soldiers without milk, and she must have 
eggs to make cakes and puddings. The Con- 
federate people near Memphis sometimes sold 
her milk, but the price was too high. Besides, 
it was not pure, but was often mixed with 
water and chalk, and the eggs, which they sold 
her, were not fresh. 



29S BITS OF IIISTORY. 

She was ver}- much troubled. One da}- she 
had a talk with the chief surgeon of the hospital. 
She spoke to him about the impure milk ai!d 
bad eggs, and she asked him to let her take 
a ride in the cars to Chicago. She told him 
that the people there were kind and would be 
willing to give her all the fresh milk and eggs 
which the sick soldiers needed. 

But the surgeon told her that she could not 
bring milk and eggs from the North, because 
they would spoil by riding so far in the cars. 
Then she lold him that she could ask the people 
to give her some cows and hens. She said that 
she could bring them to Memphis in the cars 
and keep them ne£ir the hospital. 

The surgeon ridiculed her idea, and said that 
the people would call her a crazy woman, if she 
went about begging them to give her cows and 
hens to carry to Memi)his. But she was firm, 
and said that she did not care what people 
called her. She loved and pitied the sick and 
wounded soldiers, and she wanted them to have 
plenty of fresh milk and eggs everv day. 

At last Mother Bickerdyke got a thirty days' 
furlough, and she went to Chicago. While 
she was there, she held public meetings and 
addressed the people. She told them about 
the sick and wounded soldiers at her hospital, 
and how much they needed fresh milk and eggs. 



BITS, OF HISTORY. 2gg 

She said that she had come North to get some 
cows and hens, and meant to keep them near 
her hospital at Memphis. 

The people listened attentively to her words, 
and they felt pity for the poor soldiers. They 
gave her one hundred cows and a thousand 
hens. These were all carried to Memphis in 
freight cars. After this the soldiers at Mother 
Bickerd3^ke's hospital had plenty of fresh milk 
and eggs every day, and they all felt very 
grateful to her for her kindness. 



THE LITTLE DRUMMER-BOY. 

ONCE during the late Civil War a company 
of Union soldiers were encamped at Rolla 
in the State of Missouri. While they were there 
waiting for orders, their drummer became sick, 
and they had to carry him to the hospital. 

The captain of the soldiers wished to find a 
new drummer, but there were none in that 
neighborhood. He had just received a letter 
ordering him to march his soldiers the next 
day to join General Lyon at Wilson's Creek. 
He needed a drummer greatly, and he felt much 
distressed. 

That day a negro came within the lines of 
their camp. He was quickly arrested and 
taken to their captain. The captain thought 



Soo 



BITS OF 1 1 IS TOR v. 



that perhaps he was a Confederate spy and 
asked him what business he had to come to 
their camp. The negro replied that he knew 
of a drummer and had come to tell him about 
him. The captain was much pleased and told 
the negro to send the drummer to him the next 
morning. He said that he would give him extra 
pay, if he was a good one. Then the negro 
went away to call the drummer. 

The next morning a good-looking lad}^ about 
thirty 5^ears of age came to the captain. She 
wore dark mourning clothes and was leading a 
boy by the hand. The bo}^ was about twelve 
or thirteen 3^ears old. He had a noble face and 
seemed to be bright and smart. 

The lady told the captain that she was from 
Tennessee. She said that the Confederate sol- 
diers had killed her husband, burned her house, 
and destro3'ed all her proi)erty. She also told 
him that she had come to St. Louis to see her 
sister, but she had failed to find her. She 
said that she had no money and that she 
would feel very glad, if her boy could earn 
some to support her by drumming for the 
soldiers. 

While the lady was talking, the captain kept 
watching the bo3\ His face looked a little dis- 
please<l, and he was just going to tell her that 
the boy was too small for n drummer and he 



BITS OF HISTORY. 301 

could not take him. But the boy quickly spoke 
out, " Do not be afraid captain. I can play on 
the drum." "I will examine you," said the 
ca^Dtain. Then he sent one of the soldiers to 
bring the drum and another to call the fifer. 

In a few minutes the fifer arrived at the 
place. He was over six feet high, his shoulders 
were broad, and he looked like a giant. When 
he saw the boy, he stooped down with his hands 
upon his knees, gazed into his face and said, 
"My little man, can you drum?" The boy 
quickly replied, " Yes, I drummed once for Cap- 
tain Hill in Tennessee." 

The drum was brought to the boy. Then he 
tightened the strings, fastened the strap around 
his shoulder and stood holding the sticks ready 
to pla}^ The lifer looked into his music book. 
He selected a very hard lesson. He thought 
that the boy could not follow him and would 
fail in his examination, but he was mistaken. 
The boy was very smart and played on the 
drum splendidly. Indeed, he played much 
better than the sick one. 

When the playing was finished, the captain 
smiled and said to the lady, " I will take your 
bo3^ What is his name ?" " Edward Lee," she 
said. Then she placed her hand upon the cap- 
tain's arm and said, " You must take good care 
of my bo}^ and bring him back to me after 



302 



BITS OF HISTORY. 



you are done with him." "Yes, 3x8," he said. 
Then she kissed Eddie and went away with 
lar^e tears rolling down her face. 

About an hour after that the soldiers began to 
march towards Wilson's Creek. Eddie kept be- 
side the tall fifer. He was a fine drummer. The 
soldiers all loved him, and they often treated 
him to peaches and melons which the}^ found 
b}^ the \\3.y. They often had to wade across 
brooks and muddy places. Then the kind fifer 
would stoop down and allow Eddie to get upon 
his back. He then carried him over the bad 
places. This was great amusement for the 
soldiers. 

When the}^ arrived at Wilson's Creek, thej^ 
met a compan}^ of the Confederate soldiers. 
and a severe battle began. General L3'on 
was killed, but just at dark the Union soldiers 
gained the victor}^ Then they left the valley 
and marched to a hill near by, where they 
encamped for the night. 

A sentinel watched the camp during the 
night. There was no moon shining, and it was 
pitch dark. He walked back and forth holding 
his loaded gun. It was a long and dreary night. 
Just as it began to grow light, suddenly the 
sentinel heard a drum beat at the foot of the hill, 
where the battle had been fought the day before. 
He listened and heard it again. The noise was 



BITS OF HISTORY. joj 

like Eddie's drum. He left his post and ran to 
the place. 

When he arrived there, he saw Eddie sitting 
on the ground with his back leaning against a 
fallen tree, and his drum was hanging on a 
branch in front of him. When Eddie saw the 
sentinel, he said, " I am very glad to see you. 
Please give me a drink of water. I am so 
thirsty." The sentinel reached for his canteen, 
but it was empty. So he went to a brook near 
by and filled it. Then he took it to Eddie and 
gave him a drink. While the boy was drinking, 
the sentinel saw that both of his feet had been 
shot off by a cannon-ball. Near by he saw a 
man lying dead upon the ground. This man 
was a Confederate soldier, who had been shot 
and had fallen beside Eddie. He saw that the 
boy's feet were gone and knew that he would 
bleed to death. He felt pity for him. So he 
took off his own suspenders and wound them 
tightly around the boy's legs to stop the flow of 
blood. Having done this kind act, the Confed- 
erate soldier died. 

While the sentinel was helping Eddie, a 
company of mounted Confederate scouts came 
to the place and took him prisoner. He begged 
them to let Eddie ride upon one of the horses. 
They did so and took the best care of him, but 
he died before reaching their camp. 



SO^ BITS OF HIS TOR \ '. 



THE SPY AND THE BLOODHOUND. 



ONCE upon a time during the late Civil 
War a man left the northern lines and 
went in disguise to the Confederate camp to 
search their works. Such a person is called a 
sp}'. It is ver}^ dangerous business to be a spy, 
because, if a spy is caught within the enemy's 
lines, he will be hanged. 

The sp3' walked along through the woods for 
some time. B}^ and b}^ he arrived at a large river. 
Then he got into a small boat and rowed it to 
the farther side. There he fastened it to a 
tree and went to the Confederate camp. The 
soldiers there often saw him, but the}^ thought 
that he was a farmer, and did not arrest him. 
He searched their works and drew maps of 
their forts for ten days. Then he put the 
papers under the lining of his hat and started 
to go back to the Union arm^^ 

When he arrived at the river, it was pitch 
dark. He tried to find his boat, but he could 
not see it. He groped about feeling every- 
thing for some time. Suddenh' he heard a dog 
bark at a little distance away. He knew that a 



BITS OF HISTORY. 303 

bloodhound belonging to the Confederates was 
following his tracks, and he feared that it would 
soon catch him. He felt much troubled. He 
Viranted to jump into the river and swim to the 
other side, but he did not know how to swim. 
So he waded into the water up to his arms to 
escape from the dog. 

While he was walking about in the water, 
his breast suddenly struck against something. 
He grasped the object in his hands, and then 
he understood that it was his boat. He felt 
very glad and crawled into it. 

Just then the moon began to rise, and he 
could see a little. He went to the bow of the 
boat to unfasten it. While he was unfastening 
the rope, he saw the hound on the bank. Its 
mouth was open, its eyes were gleaming at him, 
and it was ready to spring upon him. 

Quickly he pushed the boat from the bank, 
but the hound plunged into the river and fol- 
lowed him. He struck at it with his oar, but 
it dodged its head, and he could not hit it. 
He tried to row the boat away, but quickly the 
dog put its forepaws upon the side of the boat 
and held on there. The boat keeled over, and 
he was afraid that it would soon fill with 
water. 

He took his revolver from his belt and aimed 
it at the dog's head, but he was afraid to shoot, 



So6 BI TS OF HIS TOR V. 



because the Confederates would hear the rei)ort. 
Then they would follow after him and i)erhaps 
catch him. So he laid aside the rexoher and 
took his lon,L^ knife, which he i)lunj^ed into the 
hound's neck. Then it let ^o of the boat and 
sank to the bottom of the river. 

The spy was wQvy glad to escape. He rowed 
the boat across the river and soon arrived 
safelv amon-j: his friends. 



.V77VvM' OF ABRAHAM IJXCOLX. 

AlU^AHAM LIXCC^LX was born in Ken- 
tucky, Feb. 12, 1809. His father was a 
])Oor man and could neither write nor read. His 
mother could read, but she could not write. 
She was a -.^ood Christian woman and often 
read the Bible to her husband and son. 

Abe's father did not like to live in Kentuck}-, 
because the people there kept negro slaves, and 
he did not think that it was right. So he moved 
his family to Indiana. Abe was then only 
eight 3^ears old, but he was smart and strong. 
He helped his father to cut down trees. Then 
they took the logs and made a cabin. 

This cabin was Abe's h(MTie. It had only 
one room below and a chamber above. The 
chamber belonged to Abe. He had no bed, but 



BITS OF HISTORY. 307 

he slept on a quilt spread on the floor with 
another one spread over him. When he went 
to bed, he had to climb up a ladder, and at the 
table he had to sit on a stool. This was indeed 
hard living, but he was good and patient. 

Abe went to school and learned to read. 
Then he became very fond of books, but his 
father was poor and had only a few books. 

A gentleman named .Mr. Crawford lived 
near Mr. Lincoln's cabin. He was rich and 
kept many books in his house. Once Abe went 
to Mr. Crawford's house and borrowed the " Life 
of Washington." He took the book home and 
read it evenings, because he had to help his 
father during day-time. He read the book by 
the light of the fire, because his father was too 
poor to buy candles. 

One night Abe read the book for several 
hours. Then he placed it upon the shelf which 
was on the wall of the cabin. He then climbed 
up the ladder to his chamber and went to sleep. 
During the night it rained and the wind blew 
hard. The water leaked into the cabin through 
a crack upon the book. 

The next morning Abe was very sorry to 
find the leaves of Mr. Crawford's book soaked 
with water. He was an honest boy. He took 
the book to Mr. Crawford and told him how it 
happened to get wet and said that he was sorry. 



joS HITS OF HI STORY. 

Mr. Crawford was displeased. He told Abe that 
he must pay for it, but Abe told him that he 
had no money. Then he said that he must do 
work on his farm to pay for it. Abe was will- 
inj^ to do this. So he pulled fodder for Mr. 
Crawford's cattle for three days at twent^^-tive 
cents a (\.ixy. Then the dama<^ed book became 
his own. He was very glad to own a book, and 
he read it through more than a dozen times. 

Abe kept on reading and improving his 
leisure time. B}^ and b}^ when he grew to be a 
man, he became President of the United States. 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S SAFE DEPOSIT. 

WHEN Andrew Jackson was President of 
the United States, he appointed Abra- 
ham Lincoln to be postmaster of New Salem in 
Illinois. Mr. Lincoln was then a A^oung man, 
but he was honest, and ever3djody was fond of 
him. 

The post-office at New Salem was small, and 
not many letters came there. Therefore, Mr. 
Lincoln received very little mone\^ for taking 
care of it, but he did not mind his pa}". ^ He 
was very fond of reading, l)ut was too poor to 
buy books and newspapers. At the post-office 
there were man}" papers and he was very much 



BITS OF HISTORY. jog 

pleased to take care of it, because he could read 
the papers and improve in knowledge. 

But he could not stay at the office all the 
time. He must attend to his business about 
the city to earn his living. So, when he 
left the post-office, he put all the letters in his 
hat. When the people saw Mr. Lincoln on the 
streets, they went to him and asked him for 
their mail. Then he would take off his hat and 
look over the letters. In this way, the people 
called Mr. Lincoln's hat their post-office. 

After sometime the post-office at New Salem 
was broken up, and a new one was made at 
Petersburg, which was a short distance away. 
Then Mr. Lincoln gave up the office, and a new 
man took his place. 

One day, several years after this, Mr. Lincoln 
was sitting in his law office talking with several 
of his friends. Prett}^ soon the agent of the Post- 
office Department at Washington entered the 
room. He told Mr. Lincoln that he had examined 
his books and found an unsettled account 
against him while he was postmaster and that 
he owed the department a sum of money. 

Mr. Lincoln's friends watched him and saw 
that his face looked troubled. They supposed 
that he was poor and had no money. So they 
told him that the}^ would lend him some, if he 
wanted it to help him out of the trouble. But 



jio BITS OF HISTORY. 

he answered them not a word. He ^ot uj) from 
his seat, went to his book-case, took down a 
little old trunk and placed it upon his desk. 

Then he asked the agent how much his debt 
was. He replied, "Seventeen dollars and forty- 
three cents." Then Mr. Lincoln opened the 
trunk and took out a package of coin rapped 
in a cotton rag. He counted out the exact 
amount and handed the mone}^ to the agent 
without asking him a single question. 

When the agent had gone away. Mr. Lincoln 
told his friends that he never borrowed money 
and would never use any except his own. He 
told them that he had kept the coin in the rag 
for man}' years. He had needed money many 
times, but had always refused to touch that in 
the rag until the present time. 



HOW GENERAL SHERIDAN CAPTURED 
WINCHESTER. 

ONCE during the Civil War, in the )^ear 
1864, General Sheridan planned to take the 
city of Winchester, in Virginia, from the Con- 
federates. It was a pretty^ strong place, and 
he wanted to know many things about it, 
before he attacked it. 



BITS OF HISTORY. jii 

There was a young lady living in that city 
named Miss Wright. She was a friend of Gen- 
eral Sheridan and the Union people. One day 
General Sheridan met an old negro man with a 
large basket on his arm. He had a pass and 
was going to Winchester to sell bread, cakes, 
and pies. General Sheridan had a talk with 
the negro and found that he was a true friend 
of the Union. 

Then General Sheridan asked him if he 
would take a letter to Miss Wright. He replied 
that he was willing, but he feared that the Con- 
federates would search his pockets and find it. 
Then General Sheridan thought how he might 
hide the letter. He went to a baker's shop and 
got a large piece of dough. He hid the letter 
inside of the dough. Then he put it into a pan 
and baked it in an oven. 

When the loaf of bread was done, he took it 
to the negro, explained to him about the letter 
hidden in it, and told him to take it to Miss 
Wright. The negro smiled and walked away 
towards Winchester. When he arrived near it, 
the Confederates ordered him to put down his 
basket. Then they searched his pockets and 
clothes, but they found no letters. They allowed 
him to pass their lines, and he went into the 
cit}^ He sold the things from his basket, but 
he kept General Sheridan's loaf of bread, and 



J 12 BI TS OF HIS TOR ) '. 

took it to Miss Wright's house, and told her that 
there was something hidden in it. She broke 
the loaf open and found a letter from General 
Sheridan. She read it, and it asked her several 
questions about the Confederate forces at Win- 
chester. 

She was glad to help the Union people. So 
she wrote a note on tine tissue paper telling 
General Sheridan which part of the cit}^ was 
weak and which part was strong. She rolled 
the note in a piece of tin-foil. It made a ball 
about as large as a small marble. She gave the 
ball to the negro and he put it into his mouth 
and carried it to General Sheridan. 

The next da}^ General Sheridan marched to 
the weakest part of Winchester and surprised 
the Confederates. After a prett}^ hard battle, he 
beat them and took the cit}" from them. If the 
Confederates had known what Miss Wright had 
done, they would have hung her. but they knew 
nothing about it until after the War. 



Z£B'S PRISONER. 



SOME vears before the Civil War a gentle- 
man, who li\c<l in X'irginia, had a wife and 
son. His son's name was Harry and he was 
about twenty-two years of age. 



BITS OF HISTORY. jij 

The gentleman owned a large farm, and much 
corn and tobacco grew on it. He had many 
negro slaves, and the}^ did the hard work on 
his farm. . One of his slaves was named Zeb, 
and he was a large and powerful man. He did 
not like to be a slave, and he often tried to 
escape from his master, but Harry and his 
father kept a strict watcli' over all the slaves. 

When the Civil War began, Hany left his 
home and became an officer in the Confederate 
army. His father remained at home alone and 
watched the slaves, but he was quite old and 
his e3^es were dim. So he could not watch them 
very carefully. 

One night Zeb ran awa}^ from his master. 
He wandered about the woods for several days. 
By and b}^ he came to General McClellan's army 
and asked his officers if they had any work for 
him to do. 

The Union officers were pleased with him, 
and they sent him to watch their feed and pro- 
vision wagons. Zeb was a jolly fellow, and he 
often amused the soldiers b}^ showing them his 
wonderful strength. Once he lifted from the 
ground a load of ha}^ weighing a thousand 
pounds. Two strong soldiers tried jointly to 
do the same, but could not. Zeb beat them all, 
and he felt very jubilant. 



3 14 BITS OF HIS TOR Y. 

When the battle of Gaine's Mill began, Zeb 
was watching the wagons about two miles 
away. Suddenl}^ he heard the booming of 
cannon. He did not like to be idle, so he left 
the wagons and ran to the battle-tield. When 
he arrived there, the Union officers told him to 
go to the fear, or he would get killed, but he 
refused to do so and said that he wanted to help 
beat the " Johnnies." 

Just then Zeb raised himself on tip-toe and 
looked among the Confederate soldiers. He 
then shouted, " There is Massa Harr3^" and ran 
rapidly towards the Confederate soldiers. He 
seized a young officer, snatched him from his 
feet, and carried him safeh^ on his shoulder to 
the Union lines. 

Zeb was right. The officer was Harry, the 
son of Zeb's old master. He was dressed in a 
handsome uniform. When he saw that he had 
been captured by his father's slave, he felt very 
much mortitied, but Zeb was ver}" jubilant over 
his success. 

Zeb stayed with tlie Union soldiers for 
nearl}^ two 3^ears, and he helped them a great 
deal. B}^ and by he got work as a porter in one 
of the Government Departments at Washing- 
ton, D. C. 



BI TS OF HIS TOR Y. j ij 



GRANT 
FIGHTING FROM A CHURCH BELFR Y. 



IN the year 1 846 a war broke out between the 
United States and Mexico. It was brought 
on in a quarrel about the boundarj^-line between 
Texas and Mexico, Tlie Mexicans claimed 
that the greater part of Texas belonged to them, 
while the people of the United States said that 
it was their country. So a war took place 
between the two countries. 

At the time of this war General U. S. Grant 
was a 3^oung man only twenty-four years of age, 
and he had just graduated from the militia 
school at West Point. Yet he received the 
title of Lieutenant and was sent to help light 
against the Mexicans. In this war he fought 
bravely and exhibited the same spirit of cool- 
ness, firmness, and endurance that marked the 
whole of his later career. 

While the troops of the United States were 
marching against the City of Mexico, the Mexi- 
cans tried hard to stop them and to save their 
city. Several hard battles were fought before 



ji6 BITS OF HISTORY. 

the cily was taken. Once the Mexicans made 
a brave stand at the San Cosme road, so that it 
was impossible to drive them away. 

But young Grant proved himself equal to 
the emergenc3\ He began to reconnoitre, and 
at a little distance beyond the enemy's stand, he 
espied £i church. It occurred to him that its 
belfry would be an excellent place from which 
to shoot at the enemy. So he called an officer 
and several soldiers to hel]) him. lliese men 
got an howitzer and began to carr}^ it towards 
the church. But they soon found that the road 
leading to it was blocked up by the enemy's 
troops. So they decided to carry the howitzer 
across a field. In this field there were several 
ditches filled with water and rushes. Still 
Grant did not give up. He ordered his men to 
take the iiowitzer apart, and then the\^ carried 
the pieces on their shoulders and waded across 
the ditches to the church. 

When they arrived at the church, Grant 
knocked at the door. Presenth' a priest made 
his appearance, and Grant told him that he and 
his men wished to go inside. The jtriest was 
very polite, but he refused them admission. 
Then Grant told him that he would take him 
prisoner cind break into the church, if he did not 
grant his request. These words frightened the 
priest. He opened the door and allowed them 



BITS OF HISTORY. jiy 

to enter the church, but he looked very much 
displeased. 

Grant and his men took the howitzer up to 
the belfry. There they put it together and 
began to fire it at the Mexican army. It did 
excellent work. Every shot struck the solid 
columns of the enemy and raked them down by 
scores. Grant and his men felt delighted at 
their success, but they could not understand 
why the Mexicans did not come to capture their 
small party of men. 

General Worth, who commanded the main 
division of the United States troops, saw Grant's 
howitzer in the belfry, and he was much pleased 
at the work it was doing. He sent him another 
howitzer, but there was not room enough for 
two ; so Grant continued firing the first one. 
After some time the Mexicans were dislodged, 
and the way to the City of Mexico was opened. 



CONTENTS. 



Washington and the Untrained Horse, 

Washington and His Dog, 

Washington and the Poacher, 

The Detected Thief, 

Captured with Wooden Cannon, 

A Plot to Poison Washington, 

Putnam's Fight with Fire, 

Saved by an Enemy, 

Putnam's Daring Ride, 

Ethan Allen, a Prisoner, 

Ethan Allen's Note, 

The Missionary^ and the Rattlesnake, 

Jasper and the Flag, 

Jasper Spring, . 

Major Waldron, 

The Capture of General Prescott, 

Mary Knight, . 

Mrs. Dustan's Escape, 

Story of Colonel White, 

The Evacuation of Brooklyn, . 

The Boy and British Grenadier, 

The Capture of John Williams at Deerfield, 

Franklin and the Oysters, 

The Dutchman and the Rake, 

The Capture of General Sullivan, 

Mr. Little and the Five Indians, 

The Patriotism of Mrs. Borden, 



Page. 

5 

10 

14 

17 
21 

24 

29 

32 

Z7 
40 

42 
43 
45 
48 

51 

55 
60 

64 
68 
71 

75 
77 
80 
82 
85 
87 
90 



720 



CONTENTS. 



The Escape of Captain Plunkett, . 

The Treason of Ru^^sdale, 

The Boy-Soldiers of Cherry Valley, 

Frances Slocum 

Frightened by Beans, 

Raleigh and his Pipe, 

Escape of Two Boys from Indians, 

Rebecca and Abigail Bates, 

The Adventures of Israel Israel, 

A Female vSpy, ..... 

Colonel Cochran's Escape, 

The Exploits of Peter Francisco, . 

Aleck Murray and his Horse, . 

Story of Emily Geiger, . 

How the Plan of the Tories was Thwarted, 

The Bravery of Mrs. Hendee, . 

Bold Women in lien's Clothes, 

Stories of Mrs. Daviess, , 

Mr. Izard's Narrow Escape, 

Miss Bishop and her Pony, 

Saved by a Woman's Bravery, 

The Cow and the Sailor, . 

Escape of Two Brothers from Indians, 

Captured by Women, 

Tories Outwitted by a Woman, 

Elizabeth Zane, .... 

The Escape of Governor Griswold, 

Little Derby in the Secret Service, . 

wStorv of Major Croghan, . 

Arnold's Stratagem, .... 

Lady Harriet Ackland, 

The Bravery of Captain Rudolph, . 



CONTENTS. 



27. 



Daniel Abbott and the Skates, 

Bold Women at Bryant's Station, , 

Joel Jackson and his Sail Boat, 

The Three Regicides, 

Betty and the British Ships, . 

Captain Nathan Hale's Boyhood, . 

Hale Becomes a Soldier and Captures a British 

Sloop, 

Hale Captured and Hanged by the British, 

The Two Lost Pilgrims, . 

Indians Outwitted by Puritans, 

Ruth's Bravery, .... 

The Liberty Tree, .... 

The Old Draw-bridge, . 

Story of Lydia Darrah, . 

The Rescue of Two Sisters, 

The First Blow for American Liberty, 

Aunt Polly's Brigade, 

The Young Soldier, .... 

Polly and her Father, 

How General Scott was Betrayed, . 

An Historical Log, .... 

Aaron Putnam and the Seven Indians, 

Jason Rescuing his Sister, 

Laetitia and the Redcoats, 

Trusting an Indian Chief, 

Capturing a Confederate Flag, 

A Rush for a Flag, .... 

Mother Bickerdyke, .... 

Mother Bickerdyke Captures a Thief, 

Peaches Do Not Agree With Thieves, 

Searching for Wounded Soldiers at Night, 



Page. 

191 
197 
199 
202 
210 
213 

215 
217 
221 
223 
225 
22^ 
231 
233 

239 
241 

246 

250 

254 

257 

260 

262 

266 

268 

274 

278 

281 

285 

287 

288 

290 



COXTEXTS. 



vSaving a Soldier's Leg from Amputation, 

Mother Biekerdyke's Field Hospital Overturned, 

]\lother Biekerdyke's Furlough, 

The Little Drummer-Boy, 

The wSpy and the Bloodhound, 

vStory of Abraham Lineoln, 

Abraham Lincoln's Safe Deposit, 

How (General Sheridan Captured Winchester, 

Zeb's Prisoner, 

Grant Fighting from a Church Belfry, . 



Page. 

292 

294 
297 
299 

304 
306 

308 
310 
312 

3o 



